Ad Lucilium epistulae morales;

LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY |

SENECA
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EPISTULAE MORALES
I
BOOKS I-LXV

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OM eee eer Ta Se ieee i j

Translated by

R. M. GUMMERE

Complete list of Loeb titles can be
found at the end of each volume

SENECA, Lucius Annaeus, born at
Corduba (Cordova) c.5 or 4 B.C,, of a
noble and wealthy family, after an ailing
childhood and youth at Rome in an aunt’s
care, was a victim of life-long neurosis but
_ became famous in rhetoric, philosophy,
-money-making, and imperial service.
' After some disgrace during Claudius’ reign
he became tutor and then, in a.p. 54,
_ advising minister to Nero, some of whose
worst misdeeds he did not prevent. In-
volved (innocently?) in a conspiracy, he
killed himself by order in a.p.6 5. Wealthy,
he preached indifference to wealth;
évader of pain and death, he preached
scorn of both; and there were other
contrasts between practice and principle.
Wicked himself he was not. Of his works
we have 10 mis-called ‘Dialogi’, seven
being philosophical — on providence,
steadfastness, happy life, anger, leisure,
calmness of mind, shortness of life; 3
other treatises. (on money, benefits, and
natural phenomena); 124 ‘Epistulae
- morales’ all addressed to one person; a
~~ skit on the official deification of Claudius ;
and 9 rhetorical tragedies (not for acting)
onancient Greek themes. Many ‘Epistulae’
and all his speeches are lost. Much of his
thought is clever rather than deep, and his
style is pointed rather than ample.

*

S76 SENECA. :

| SENECA, LUCIUS ANNAEUS»
AD LUCILIUM EPISTULAF
MORALES; 74 ¢/ Fe
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SENECA
avs

AD LUCILIUM EPISTULAE MORALES
I

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in 2007 with funding from
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SENECA

IN TEN VOLUMES
IV

AD LUCILIUM
EPISTULAE MORALES

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
RICHARD M. GUMMERE, Ph.D.

HEADMASTER, WILLIAM PENN CHARVER SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA

IN THREE VOLUMES

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON

WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD
MCMLX XIX

American
ISBN 0-674-99084-6

British
ISBN 0 434 99075 2

First printed 1917
Reprinted 1925, 1934, 1953, 1961, 1967, 1979

Printed in Great Britain

G76 20507 y
GEMECA tiga
vol. (

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I

PAGE
INTRODUCTION . J : Z : ‘ Vii
LETTERS—
I. ON SAVING TIME : : s : : 2
Il. ON DISCURSIVENESS IN READING . ; 5 6
I]. ON TRUE AND FALSE FRIENDSHIP ; ‘ 8
IV. ON THE TERRORS OF DEATH ; : : 12
V. ON THE PHILOSOPHER'S MEAN. . : , 2¢
VI. ON SHARING KNOWLEDGE . , : , 24
VII. ON CROWDS : : : : : ‘ 28
VIII. ON THE PHILOSOPHER'S SECLUSION : : 36
IX. ON PHILOSOPHY. AND FRIENDSHIP ‘ , 42
X. ON LIVING TO ONESELF. 2 : pedo
XI. ON THE BLUSH OF MODESTY : , : 69
Mil. ON OLD AGE. . : 5. ; : pore GY 3
XIII. ON GROUNDLESS FEARS : : : ae denata
XIV. ON THE REASONS FOR WITHDRAWING FROM
THE WORLD . : : 3 : 84
XV. ON BRAWN AND BRAINS ‘ ‘ . : 94
XVI. ON PHILOSOPHY, THE GUIDE OF LIFE . Ra 2
XVII. ON PHILOSOPHY AND RICHES . : . 108
XVIII. ON FESTIVALS AND FASTING : 2 . 116
XIX. ON WORLDLINESS AND RETIREMENT. ee Ys |

XX.
XXI.

XXII,
XXIII.

XXIV.
XXV.

XXXVI.

XXVII.

OLB NUE
XXAIX.

XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.

©. 0.0008
XXXIV.
XXXV.

XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XX XIX.
XL.

CONTENTS

ON PRACTISING WHAT YOU PREACH

ON THE RENOWN WHICH MY WRITINGS
WILL BRING YOU . °

ON THE FUTILITY OF HALF-WAY MEASURES

ON THE TRUE JOY WHICH COMES FROM

PHILOSOPHY ° . : .
ON DESPISING DEATH ° ° . .
ON REFORMATION . . .

ON OLD AGE AND DEATH

ON THE GOOD WHICH ABIDES

ON TRAVEL AS A CURE FOR DISCONTENT

ON THE CRITICAL CONDITION OF MAR-
CELLINUS . .

ON CONQUERING THE CONQUEROR . .

ON SIREN SONGS |

ON PROGRESS °

ON THE FUTILITY OF LEARNING MAXIMS

ON A PROMISING PUPIL . .

ON THE FRIENDSHIP OF KINDRED MINDS

ON THE VALUE OF RETIREMENT : :
ON ALLEGIANCE TO VIRTUE. : ‘
ON QUIET CONVERSATION Rie be :
ON NOBLE ASPIRATIONS . :

ON THE PROPER STYLE FOR A _ PHILO-

,

SOPHER S DISCOURSE . ° .
ON THE GOD WITHIN US. > . .
ON VALUES . . . ° . .
ON THE RELATIVITY OF FAME. : .
ON PHILOSOPHY AND PEDIGREES : .
ON SOPHISTICAL ARGUMENTATION . .

PAG
l Og

Jn

140
145

158
164
182
186
192
198

208
210
OOO
228
I389
240
249

246

tw rw te

(S3)
<<
So

XLVI.
XLVIL.
XLVIIL.

LII.
LILI.
LIV.

LV.
LVI.

LVII.
LVIII.
LIX.
LX.
LXI.
LXII.
LXIII.
LXIV.
LXV.

INDEX

ON
ON
ON

CONTENTS

A NEW BOOK BY LUCILIUS
MASTER AND SLAVE

QUIBBLING AS UNWORTHY

PHILOSOPHER . .

ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON

a

ON
ON

THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE

OUR BLINDNESS AND ITS CURE

BAIAE AND MORALS .
CHOOSING OUR TEACHERS

THE FAULTS OF THE SPIRIT .

ASTHMA AND DEATH .
VATIA’S VILLA.
QUIET AND STUDY

THE TRIALS OF TRAVEL
BEING : ; ,
PLEASURE AND JOY
HARMFUL PRAYERS.

MEETING DEATH CHEERFULLY

GOOD COMPANY .
GRIEF FOR LOST FRIENDS
THE PHILOSOPHER'S TASK
THE FIRST CAUSE :

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INTRODUCTION

Amonc the personalities of the early Roman Empire
there are few who offer to the readers of to-day such
dramatic interest as does Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the
author of the Epistles which are translated in this
volume. Born in a province, educated at Rome,
prominent at the bar, a distinguished exile, a trusted
minister of State, and a doomed victim of a capricious
emperor, Seneca is so linked with the age in which
he lived that in reading his works we read those of
a true representative of the most thrilling period
of Roman history.

Seneca was born in the year 4 B.c., a time of
great opportunity, at Corduba, in Spain, son of the
talented rhetorician, Annaeus Seneca. We gather
that the family moved to Rome during the boyhood
of Lucius, that he was educated for the bar, and
that he was soon attracted by the Stoic philosophy,
the stern nurse of heroes during the first century
of the Empire. That his social connexions were
distinguished we infer from the prominence and
refinement of his brother Gallio,—the Gallio of the
New Testament,—from the fact that he himself was
noticed and almost condemned to death by the
Emperor Caligula soon after he began to speak in
public, and especially because his aunt, whom he

VOL. I A 2 Vii

INTRODUCTION

visited in Egypt, was the wife of the governor of
that country.

Up to the year 41 he prospered. He makes
mention of his children, of his mother who, like the
mother of Goethe, seems to have imbued him with
idealism and a certain amount of mysticism, and of
many valued friends. But during that year, as a
result of court intrigue, he was banished to the
island of Corsica. The charge against him was a too
great intimacy with Iulia Livilla, unfortunate sister
of the late emperor, and the arch-foe of Messalina,
whose husband, Claudius, had recalled the princess
from exile. We may discount any crime on Seneca’s
part because even the gossip-laden Suetonius says:
“The charge was vague and the accused was given
no opportunity to defend himself.”

The eight years of exile were productive of much
literary work. The tragedies, which have had such
influence on later drama, are the fruit of this period,
besides certain essays on philosophic subjects, and a
rather cringing letter to Polybius, a rich freedman
at the court of Claudius. In 49, however, Fortune,
whom Seneca as a Stoic so often ridicules, came
to his rescue. Agrippina had him recalled and ap-
pointed tutor to her young son, later to become the
Emperor Nero. Holding the usual offices of state,
and growing in prominence, Seneca administered the
affairs of the prince, in partnership with Burrus, the
praetorian. Together they maintained the balance
of power between throne and Senate until the death
of Burrus in the year 62. After that time, a philo-
sopher without the support of military power was
unable to cope with the vices and whims of the
monster on the throne.

The last two years of Seneca’s life were spent in

vul

INTRODUCTION

travelling about southern Italy, composing essays on
natural history and relieving his burdened soul by
correspondence with his friend Lucilius. In the
year 65 came his suicide, anticipating an act of
violence on the Emperor’s part; in this deed of
heroism he was nobly supported by his young wife
Paulina. The best account of these dark days is
given in Tacitus.

These letters are all addressed to Lucilius. From
internal evidence we gather that the native country
of this Lucilius was Campania, and his native
city Pompeii or Naples. He was a Roman knight,
having gained that position, as Seneca tells us, by
sheer industry. Prominent in the civil service, he
had filled many important positions and was, at the
time when the Letters were written, procurator in
Sicily. He seems to have had Epicurean tendencies,
like so many men from this part of Italy; the
author argues and tries to win him over to Stoicism,
in the kindliest manner. Lucilius wrote books, was
interested in philosophy and geography, knew in-
timately many persons in high places, and is thought
by some to be the author of the extant poem Aeina.

When their friendship began we cannot say.
The Naturales Quaestiones and the Letters are the
work of Seneca’s closing years. Both are addressed
to Lucilius. The essay De Providentia, which was
also dedicated to him, is of doubtful date, and may
be fixed at any time between the beginning of the
exile in Corsica and the period when the Letters
were written.

In spite of the many problems which confront us,
it may be safely said that the years 63-65 constitute
the period of the Letters. We find possible allusions

1X

INTRODUCTION

to the Campanian earthquake of 63, a reference to
the conflagration at Lyons, which took place either
in 64 or in 65, and various hints that the philosopher
was travelling about Italy in order to forget politics.

The form of this work, as Bacon says, is a col-
lection of essays rather than of letters. The recipient
is often mentioned by name; but his identity is
secondary to the main purpose. The language at
the beginning of the seventy-fifth letter, for example,
might lead one to suppose that they were dashed off
in close succession: “ You complain that you receive
from me letters which are rather carelessly written ;”
but the ingenious juxtaposition of effective words,
the balance in style and thought, and the continual
striving after point, indicate that the language of
the diatribe had affected the informality of the
epistle.}

The structure of each letter is interesting. A
concrete fact, such as the mention of an illness, a
voyage by sea or land, an incident like the adventure
in the Naples tunnel, a picnic party, or an assemblage
of friends who discuss questions from Plato, or
Aristotle, or Epicurus,—these are the elements which
serve to justify the reflections which follow. After
such an introduction, the writer takes up his theme ;
he deals with abstract subjects, such as the contempt »
of death, the stout-heartedness of the sage, or the
quality of the Supreme Good. We shall not mention
the sources of all these topics in footnotes, but
shall aim only to explain that which is obscure in
meaning or unusual in its import. Plato’s Theory
of Ideas, Aristotle’s Categories, Theophrastus on

1 How Seneca came by this ‘‘ pointed” style will be

evident to one who reads the sample speeches given in
the handbook of the Elder Seneca.

x

INTRODUCTION

Friendship, Epicurus on Pleasure, and all the count-
less doctrinal shades of difference which we find in
the Stoic leaders, are at least sketched in outline.

But we must give full credit to the philosopher's
own originality. In these letters, it is impossible
to ignore the advance from a somewhat stiff and
Ciceronian point of view into the attractive and
debatable land of what one may fairly call modern
ideas. The style of the Epistles is bold, and so is
the thought.

Considered en masse, the letters form a fruitful
and helpful handbook, of the very widest scope
and interest. The value of intelligent reading and
the studies which make for culture is presented to
Lucilius with frequency, notably in Nos. II. and
LXXXVIII. Seneca agrees with the definition of
higher studies as ‘‘ those which have no reference to
mere utility.” The dignity of the orator’s profession
(XL. and CXIV.) is brought to the attention of
a young self-made merchant who seems inclined
towards platform display. The modern note is
struck when the author protests against the swinish
and debasing effects of slavery or gladiatorial com-
bats (XLVII. and LXX.); preaches against the
degeneracy of drunkenness (LXXXIII.); portrays
the charms of plain living and love of nature
(LVIL, LXVIL, LXXIX., LXXXVI., LXXXVIL.,
XC., XCIV.); recommends retirement (XVIII., LI,
LVI., LXXX., CXXII.); or manifests a Baconian
interest in scientific inventions (LVII., LXXIX.).
Most striking of all is the plea (XCIV.) for the
equality of the sexes and for conjugal fidelity in the
husband, to be interpreted no less strictly than honour
on the part of the wife. The craze for athletics is
also analyzed and rebuked (XV.).

xi

INTRODUCTION

The Epistles contain also, of course, the usual
literary types which every Roman epistolographer
would feel bound to introduce. There is the con-
solatio; there is the theme of friendship; there are
second-hand lectures on philosophy taken from Plate
and Aristotle and Theophrastus, as we have indi-
cated above; and several characteristically Roman
laudations of certain old men (including the author
himself) who wrestle with physical infirmities. But
the Stoic doctrine is interpreted better, from the
Roman point of view, by no other Latin writer. The
facts of Seneca’s life prove the sincerity of his utter-
ances, and blunt the edge of many of the sneers
which we find in Dio Cassius, regarding the fabulous
sums which he had out at interest and the costly
tables purchased for the palace of a millionaire.

Finally, in no pagan author, save perhaps Vergil,
is the beauty of holiness (XLI.) so sincerely presented
from a Roman standpoint. Although his connexion
with the early Church has been disproved, Seneca
shows the modern, the Christian, spirit. Three of
the ideals mentioned above, the hatred of combats
in the arena, the humane treatment of slaves, and
the sanctity of marriage, draw us towards Seneca as
towards a teacher like Jeremy Taylor..

There is no pretence of originality in the Latin
text; the translator has adopted, with very few
deviations, that of O. Hense’s second edition. This
text he has found to be excellent, and he has also
derived assistance from the notes accompanying the
Selected Letters of W. C. Summers.

Ricuarp M. GumMMERE,

Haverrorp Co..ece, MW. ay, 1916.
xil

THE TEXT

Yhe manuscripts of the Letters fall into two clearly
defined parts; from I. to LXXXVIII. inclusive, and from
LXXXIX. to CXXIV. They are divided into books; but
in this translation we shall number them only by letters.
For a more detailed description the reader is referred to
Hense’s preface to the 1914 Teubner edition.

MSS. available for the first part of the Letters are—
(1) Two Paris MSS. of the 10th century, p and P.
(2) Another Paris MS. of the 11th century, b.
(3) The codex Laurentianus, of the 9th or 10th century,
containing letters 1.-LXV. This is designated as L.
(4) The codex Venetus, of the same date, containing Nos.
LIII.-LXXXVIII. V.

(5) The codex Metensis, of the 11th century, known as M.
(6) The codex Gudianus, of the 10th century, which con-
tains scraps of the earliest letters. Designated as g.

For the second part of the Letters, LXXXIX.-CXXIV.,
there is a more limited choice. The best MS. is—
Codex Bambergensis, of the 9th century, known as B.
Codex Argentoratensis, A, which was destroyed in the siege
of Strassburg, of the 9th or 10th century.

Other MSS., either of less importance or of later date,
may be found in Hense’s preface.

1 Where the testimony of these later MSS. seems sonnd, the translator
has omitted Hense’s brackets; the headings of the books into which the
Letiers were originally divided are also omitted.

xiii

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editions :

1475 Editio Princeps, Naples. In this were included
most of the philosopher’s works, together with
several by the elder Seneca. The Epistles were
published separately, in the same year, at Paris,
Rome, and Strassburg.

1515 Erasmus, Basel.

1605 Lipsius, Antwerp.

1649-1658 J. F. Gronovius (with the elder Seneca),
Leiden.

1797-1811 F. E. Ruhkopf, Leipzig.

1842 C.R. Fickert, Leipzig.

1852 F. Haase, Leipzig.

1898, 19142 O. Hense (Teubner), Leipzig.

1910 W. C. Summers, Select Letters (with extensive
introduction and annotations), Maemillan.

1921 O. Hense, Supplementum Quinirianum (Teubner),
Leipzig.

1931 A. Beltrami, 2 vols, Rome.

1945— F. Préchac (Fr. trans. by H. Noblot), Budeé,
Paris.

1965 L. D. Reynolds, O.C.T., 2 vols, Oxford 1965.

Manuscripts :

There are two separate traditions, one for Letters 1-88,
another for 89-124. A full and excellent account is
given in L. D. Reynolds, The Medieval Tradition of
Seneca’s Letters, Oxford 1965.

Textual Studies :

W. H. Alexander, ‘‘ Seneca’s Epistulae Morales, The
Text Emended and Explained,” Univ. Calif. Publ.
Vol. 12, pp. 57-88; 135-164.

X1V

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bertil Axelson, Der Codex Argentoratensis C.V 1.5, Lund
1937.

Bertil Axelson, *‘ Neue Senecastudien, Textkrit. Beitrage
zu Senecas Epistulae Morales,” Lunds Univ. Ars-
skr. 36, 1 (1939).

Otto Foerster, Handschrifiliche Untersuchungen zu Se-
nekas Epistulae Morales .. ., Stuttgart 1936.

Einar Lofstedt, ‘‘ Zu Senecas Briefen,’’ Eranos 14 (1915),
142-164.

G. Maurach, Der Bau von Senecas Epistulae Morales,
Heidelberg 1970.

Biographical :

A. Bourgery, Sénéque prosateur, Paris 1922.

Miriam T. Griffin, Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics,
Oxford 1965.

P. Grimal, Sénéque, sa vie, son wuvre, sa philosophie,
Paris 1948, 1957?.

Anna Lydia Motto, Seneca Sourcebook: Guide to the
Thought of . . . (arranged by subject in alphabetical
order), Amsterdam 1970. See also her biblio-
graphical surveys in Classical World 54 (1960) and
64 (1971).

René Waltz, Vie de Sénéque, Paris 1909.

(G. P. G., 1979)

XV

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

L. ANNAEI SENECAE AD
LUCILIUM EPISTULAE

E

Seneca LvycILio svo SALVTEM

1 = Ita fac, mi Lucili; vindica te tibi, et tempus, quod
adhuc aut auferebatur aut subripiebatur aut excide-
bat, collige et serva. Persuade tibi hoc sic esse, ut
scribo: quaedam tempora eripiuntur nobis, quaedam
subducuntur, quaedam efHuunt. Turpissima tamen
est iactura, quae per neglegentiam fit. Et si volueris
attendere, maxima pars vitae elabitur male agentibus,
magna nihil agentibus, tota vita aliud agentibus.

2 Quem mihi dabis, qui aliquod pretium tempori ponat,
qui diem aestimet, qui intellegat se cotidie mori?
In hoe enim fallimur, quod mortem prospicimus ;
magna pars eius iam praeterit. Quicquid aetatis
retro est, mors tenet.

Fac ergo, mi Lucili, quod facere te scribis, omnes
horas conplectere. Sic fiet, ut minus ex crastino

endeas, si hodierno manum inieceris. Dum dif-
Pp 9
=

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA
I. ON SAVING TIME

Greetings from Seneca to his friend Lucilius.

ConTINuE to act thus, my dear Lucilius—set your-
self free for your own sake; gather and save your
time, which till lately has been forced from you, or
filched away, or has merely slipped from your hands.
Make yourself believe the truth of my words,—that
certain moments are torn from us, that some are
gently removed, and that others glide beyond our
reach. The most disgraceful kind of loss, however,
is that due to carelessness. Furthermore, if you
will pay close heed to the problem, you will find
that the largest portion of our life passes while we
are doing ill, a goodly share while we are doing
nothing, and the whole while we are doing that
which is not to the purpose. What man can you
show me who places any value on his time, who
reckons the worth of each day, who understands
that he is dying daily? For we are mistaken when
we look forward to death ; the major portion of death
has already passed. Whatever years lie behind us
are in death’s hands.

Therefore, Lucilius, do as you write me that you
are doing: hold every hour in your grasp. Lay hold
of to-day’s task, and you will not need to depend so
much upon to-morrow’s. While we are postponing,

3

aT
4

v

i

5

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

iertur, vita transcurrit. Omnia, Lucili, aliena sunt,
tempus tantum nostrum cst. In huius rei unius
fugacis ac lubricae possessionem natura nos misit, ex
qua expellit quicumque vult. Et tanta stultitia
mortalium est, ut quae minima et vilissima sunt,
certe reparabilia, imputari sibi, cum impetravere,
patiantur ; nemo se iudicet quicquam debere, qui
tempus accepit, cum interim hoc unum est, quod ne
gratus quidem potest reddere.

Interrogabis fortasse, quid ego faciam, qui tibi
ista praecipio. Fatebor ingenue: quod apud luxu-
riosum sed diligentem evenit, ratio mihi constat in-
pensae. Non possum me dicere! nihil perdere, sed
quid perdam et quare et quemadmodum, dicam ;
causas paupertatis meae reddam, sed evenit mihi,
quod plerisque non suo vitio ad inopiam redactis :
omnes ignoscunt, nemo succurrit.

Quid ergo est? Non puto pauperem, cui quantu-
lumcumque superest, sat est. Tu tamen malo serves
tua, et bono tempore incipies. Nam ut visum est
maioribus nostris, sera parsimonia in fundo est.
Non enim tantum minimum in imo, sed pessimum
remanet. VALE.

1 me dicere Hense: dicere me or dicere nihil me MSS.

@ Hesiod, Works and Days, 369.

EPISTLE I.

life speeds by. Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except
time. We were entrusted by nature with the owner-
ship of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery
that anyone who will can oust us from possession.
What fools these mortals be! They allow the cheapest
and most useless things, which can easily be replaced,
to be charged in the reckoning, after they have
acquired them ; but they never regard themselves as
in debt when they have received some of that precious
commodity,—time! And yet time is the one loan
which even a grateful recipient cannot repay.

You may desire to know how I, who preach to you
so freely, am practising. I confess frankly: my
expense account balances, as you would expect from
one who is free-handed but careful. I cannot boast
that I waste nothing, but I can at least tell you what
I am wasting, and the cause and manner of the loss ;
I can give you the reasons why I am a poor man.
My situation, however, is the same as that of many
who are reduced to slender means through no fault
of their own: every one forgives them, but no one
comes to their rescue.

What is the state of things,then? It isthis: Ido
not regard a man as poor, if the little which remains
is enough for him. I advise you, however, to keep
what is really yours; and you cannot begin too early.
For, as our ancestors believed, it is too late to spare
when you reach the dregs of the cask.2 Of that
which remains at the bottom, the amount is slight,
and the quality is vile. Farewell.

i

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

If.

Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

Ex iis quae mihi scribis, et ex iis quae audio,
bonam spem de te concipio; non discurris nec
locorum mutationibus inquietaris. Aegri animi ista
iactatio est. Primum argumentum conpositae mentis
existimo posse consistere et secum morari. Illud
autem vide, ne ista lectio auctorum multorum et
omnis generis voluminum habeat aliquid vagum et
instabile. Certis ingeniis inmorari et innutriri oportet,
si velis aliquid trahere, quod in animo fideliter sedeat.
Nusquam est, qui ubique est. Vitam in peregrina-
tione exigentibus hoc evenit, ut multa hospitia
habeant, nullas amicitias. Idem accidat necesse est
iis, qui nullius se ingenio familiariter applicant, sed
omnia cursim et properantes transmittunt. Non
prodest cibus nec corpori accedit, qui statim sumptus
emittitur; nihil aeque sanitatem impedit quam
remediorum crebra mvutatio; non venit vulnus ad
cicatricem, in quo medicamenta temptantur; non
convalescit planta, quae saepe transfertur. Nihil
tam utile est, ut in transitu prosit. Distringit
librorum multitudo.

Itaque cum legere non possis, quantum habueris,
satis est habere, quantum legas. “Sed modo,”
inquis, “ hune librum evolvere volo, modo illum.”
Fastidientis stomachi est multa degustare ; quae ubi

6

EPISTLE II.

IT. ON DISCURSIVENESS IN READING

Judging by what you write me, and by what I
hear, I am forming a good opinion regarding your
future. You do not run hither and thither and
distract yourself by changing your abode; for such
restlessness is the sign of a disordered spirit. The
primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered
mind is a man’s ability to remain in one place and
linger in his own company. Be careful, however,
lest this reading of many authors and books of every
sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady.
You must linger among a limited number of master-
thinkers, and digest their works, if you would derive
ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Every-
where means nowhere. When a person spends all
his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many
acquaintances, but no friends. And the same thing
must hold true of men who seek intimate acquaint-
ance with no single author, but visit them all in a
hasty and hurried manner. Food does no good and
is not assimilated into the body if it leaves the
stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a
cure so much as frequent change of medicine; no
wound will heal when one salve is tried after another ;
a plant which is often moved can never grow strong.
There is nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful
while it is being shifted about. And in reading of
many books is distraction.

Accordingly, since you cannot read all the books
which you may possess, it is enough to possess only
as many books as you can read. “ But,” you reply,
“TI wish to dip first into one book and then into
another.” I tell you that it is the sign of an over-
nice appetite to toy with many dishes; for when

if

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

varia sunt et diversa, inquinant, non alunt. Probatos
itaque semper lege, et si quando ad alios deverti
libuerit, ad priores redi. Aliquid cotidie adversus
paupertatem, aliquid adversus mortem auxilii com-
para, nec minus adversus ceteras pestes; et cum
multa percurreris, unum excerpe, quod illo die con-
5 coquas. Hoc ipse quoque facio; ex pluribus, quae
legi, aliquid adprehendo.
Hodiernum hoc est, quod apud Epicurum nanctus
sum; soleo enim et in aliena castra transire, non
§ tamquam transfuga, sed tamquam explorator. “ Ho-
nesta,’ inquit, “res est laeta paupertas.” lila vero
non est paupertas, si laeta est. Non qui parum
habet, sed qui plus cupit, pauper est. Quid enim
refert, quantum illi in areca, quantum in_horreis
iaceat, quantum pascat aut feneret, si alieno inminet,
si non adquisita sed adquirenda computat? Quis
sit divitiarum modus, quaeris? Primus habere quod
necesse est, proximus quod sat est. VALE,

Til:

Seneca LyvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Epistulas ad me perferendas tradidisti, ut scribis,
amico tuo; deinde admones me, ne omnia cum eo ad
te pertinentia communicem, quia non soleas ne ipse
quidem id facere; ita in! eadem epistula illum et

1 ita in Gertz; ita AL.

@ Frag. 475 Usener.

EPISTLES II., III.

they are manifold and varied, they cloy but do not
nourish. So you should always read standard authors ;
and when you crave a change, fall back upon those
whom you read before. Each day acquire something
that will fortify you against poverty, against death,
indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after
you have run over many thoughts, select one to be
thoroughly digested that day. This is my own
custom; from the many things which I have read,
I claim some one part for myself.

The thought for to-day is one which I discovered
in Epicurus®; for I am wont to cross over even into
the enemy’s camp,—not as a deserter, but as a scout.
He says: “Contented poverty is an honourable
estate.” Indeed, if it be contented, it is not poverty
at all. It is not the man who has too little, but the
man who craves more, that is poor. What does it
matter how much a man has laid up in his safe, or
in his warehouse, how large are his flocks and how
fat his dividends, if he covets his neighbour’s property,
and reckons, not his past gains, but his hopes of gains
to come? Do you ask what is the proper limit to
wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary, and,
second, to have what is enough. Farewell.

II]. ON TRUE AND FALSE FRIENDSHIP

You have sent a letter to me through the hand of
a “friend” of yours, as you call him. And in your
very next sentence you warn me not to discuss with
him all the matters that concern you, saying that
even you yourself are not accustomed to do this;
in other words, you have in the same letter affirmed

9

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

dixisti amicum et negasti. Itaque si! proprio illo
verbo quasi publico usus es et sic illum amicum vocasti,
quomodo omnes candidatos bonos viros dicimus,
quomodo obvios, si nomen non succurrit, dominos
2 salutamus, hac abierit. Sed si aliquem amicum
existimas, cui non tantundem credis quantum tibi,
vehementer erras et non satis nosti vim verae ami-
citiae. Tu vero omnia cum amico delibera, sed de
ipso prius. Post amicitiam credendum est, ante
amicitiam iudicandum. Isti vero praepostero officia
permiscent, qui contra praecepta Theophrasti, cum
amaverunt, iudicant, et non amant, cum iudicaverunt.
Diu cogita, an tibi in amicitiam aliquis recipiendus
sit. Cum placuerit fieri, toto illum pectore admitte ;
3 tam audaciter cum illo loquere quam tecum. Tu
quidem ita vive, ut nihil tibi committas, nisi quod
committere etiam inimico tuo possis ; sed quia inter-
veniunt quaedam, quae consuetudo fecit arcana, cum
amico omnes curas, omnes cogitationes tuas misce.
Fidelem si putaveris, facies. Nam quidam fallere
docuerunt, dum timent falli, et illi ius peccandi
suspicando fecerunt. Quid est, quare ego ulla verba
coram amico meo retraham? Quid est, quare me
coram illo non putem solum ?
1 si Hense; sic MSS.

* i.e.,a word which has a special significance to the Stoics ;
see Lp. x\viii., note. ® Frag. 74 Wimmer.

10

EPISTLE III.

and denied that he is your friend. Now if you used
this word of ours“ in the popular sense, and called
him “friend” in the same way in which we speak
of all candidates for election as “ honourable gentle-
men,’ and as we greet all men whom we meet casu-
ally, if their names slip us for the moment, with the
salutation “my dear sir,’—so be it. But if you
consider any man a friend whom you do not trust
as you trust yourself, you are mightily mistaken and
you do not sufficiently understand what true friend-
ship means. Indeed, I would have you discuss every-
thing with a friend; but first of all discuss the man
himself. When friendship is settled, you must trust;
before friendship is formed, you must pass judgment.
Those persons indeed put last first and confound their
duties, who, violating the rules of Theophrastus,?
judge a man after they have made him their friend,
instead of making him their friend after they have
judged him. Ponder for a long time whether you
shall admit a given person to your friendship; but
when you have decided to admit him, welcome him
with all your heart and soul. Speak as boldly with
him as with yourself. As to yourself, although you
should live in such a way that you trust your own
self with nothing which you could not entrust even
to your enemy, yet, since certain matters occur which
convention keeps secret, you should share with a
friend at least all your worries and reflections.
Regard him as loyal, and you will make him loyal.
Some, for example, fearing to be deceived, have
taught men to deceive; by their suspicions they have
given their friend the right to do wrong. Why need
I keep back any words in the presence of my friend ?
Why should I not regard myself as alone when in
his company ?

11

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

4 Quidam quae tantum amicis committenda sunt,
obviis narrant et in quaslibet aures, quicquid illos
urserit, exonerant. Quidam rursus etiam carissi-
morum conscientiam reformidant, et si possent, ne
sibi quidem credituri interivs premunt omne secretum.
Neutrum faciendum est. Utrumque enim vitium est,
et omnibus credere et nulli. Sed alterum honestius

5 dixerim vitium, alterum tutius; sic utrosque repre-
hendas, et eos qui semper inquieti sunt, et eos qui
semper quiescunt. Nam illa tumultu gaudens non
est industria, sed exagitatae mentis concursatio. Et
haec non est quies, quae motum omnem molestiam

6 iudicat, sed dissolutio et languor. Itaque hoc, quod
apud Pomponium legi, animo mandabitur: “ quidam
adeo in latebras refugerunt, ut putent in turbido esse,
quicquid in luce est.’’ Inter se ista miscenda sunt,
et quiescenti agendum et agenti quiescendum est.
Cum rerum natura delibera; illa dicet tibi et diem
fecisse se et noctem. VALE.

III.

Seneca LvyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 + Persevera ut coepisti et quantum potes propera,
quo diutius frui emendato animo et conposito possis.
Frueris quidem etiam dum emendas, etiam dum con-

@ See Index.

12

EPISTLES III., IV.

There is a class of men who communicate, to any-
one whom they meet, matters which should be re-
vealed to friends alone, and unload upon the chance
listener whatever irks them. Others, again, fear to
confide in their closest intimates; and if it were
possible, they would not trust even themselves, bury-
ing their secrets deep in their hearts. But we should
do neither. It is equally faulty to trust every one and
to trust no one. Yet the former fault is, I should
say, the more ingenuous, the latter the more safe.
In like manner you should rebuke these two kinds
of men,—both those who always lack repose, and those
who are always in repose. For love of bustle is not
industry,—it is only the restlessness of a hunted
mind. And true repose does not consist in con-
demning all motion as merely vexation; that kind
of repose is slackness and inertia. Therefore, you
should note the following saying, taken from my
reading in Pomponius®: “ Some men shrink into dark
corners, to such a degree that they see darkly by
day.” No, men should combine these tendencies,
and he who reposes should act and he who acts
should take repose. Discuss the problem with
Nature; she will tell you that she has created both
day and night. Farewell.

IV. ON THE TERRORS OF DEATH

Keep on as you have begun, and make all possible
haste, so that you may have longer enjoyment of
an improved mind, one that is at peace with itself.
Doubtless you will derive enjoyment during the time

13

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ponis ; alia tamen illa voluptas est, quae percipitur
ex contemplatione mentis ab omni labe purae et

2 splendidae. Tenes utique memoria, quantum senseris
gaudium, cum praetexta posita sumpsisti virilem
togam et in forum deductus es; maius expecta, cum
puerilem animum deposueris et te in viros philo-
sophia transscripserit. Adhuc enim non pueritia sed,
quod est gravius, puerilitas remanet. Et hoc quidem
peior! est, quod auctoritatem habemus senum, vitia
puerorum, nec puerorum tantum sed infantum. Illi
levia, hi falsa formidant, nos utraque.

3 Profice modo; intelleges quaedam ideo minus
timenda, quia multum metus adferunt. Nullum
malum est? magnum, quod extremum est. Mors ad
te venit; timenda erat, si tecum esse posset; sed?
necesse est aut non perveniat aut transeat

4“ Difficile est,” inquis, “ animum perducere ad con-
temptionem animae.’’ Non vides, quam ex frivolis
causis contemnatur? Alius ante amicae fores laqueo
pependit, alius se praecipitavit e tecto, ne dominum
stomachantem diutius audiret, alius ne reduceretur e
fuga, ferrum adegit in viscera. Non putas virtutem
hoc effecturam, quod efficit nimia formido? Nulli
potest secura vita contingere, qui de producenda

nimis cogitat, qui inter magna bona multos consules

1 Hense, after Gertz, adds res after peor.
2 malum est and sed inserted by Gertz.

EPISTLE IV.

when you are improving your mind and setting it at
peace with itself; but quite different is the pleasure
which comes from contemplation when one’s mind is
so cleansed from every stain that it shines. You
remember, of course, what joy you felt when you laid
aside the garments of boyhood and donned the man’s
toga, and were escorted to the forum; nevertheless,
you may look for a still greater joy when you have
laid aside the mind of boyhood and when wisdom has
enrolled you among men. For it is not boyhood
that still stays with us, but something worse,—boyish-
ness. And this condition is all the more serious
because we possess the authority of old age, together
with the follies of boyhood, yea, even the follies of
infancy. Boys fear trifles, children fear shadows, we
fear both. |

All you need to do is to advance; you will thus
understand that some things are less to be dreaded,
precisely because they inspire us with great fear.
No evil is great which is the last evil of all. Death
arrives; it would be a thing to dread, if it could
remain with you. But death must either not come
at all, or else must come and pass away.

“It is difficult, however,” you say, “to bring the
mind to a point where it can scorn life.” But do you
not see what trifling reasons impel men to scorn life ?
One hangs himself before the door of his mistress ;
another hurls himself from the house-top that he may
no longer be compelled to bear the taunts of a bad-
tempered master; a third, to be saved from arrest
after running away, drives a sword into his vitals.
Do you not suppose that virtue will be as efficacious
as excessive fear? No man can have a peaceful life
who thinks too much about lengthening it, or believes
that living through many consulships is a great bless-

VOL. I B 15

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

5numerat. Hoe cotidie meditare, ut possis aeque
animo vitam relinquere, quam multi sic conplectuntur
et tenent, quomodo qui aqua torrente rapiuntur spinas
et aspera.
Plerique inter mortis metum et vitae tormenta
miseri fluctuantur et vivere nolunt, mori nesciunt.
6 Fac itaque tibi iucundam vitam omnem< pro illa
sollicitudinem deponendo. Nullum bonum adiuvat
habentem, nisi ad cuius amissionem praeparatus est
animus; nullius autem rei facilior amissio est, quam
quae desiderari amissa non potest. Ergo adversus
haec, quae incidere possunt etiam potentissimis, ad-
7 hortare te et indura. De Pompei capite pupillus et
spado tulere sententiam, de Crasso crudelis et insolens
Parthus ; Gaius Caesar iussit Lepidum Dextro tribuno
praebere cervicem, ipse Chaereae praestitit. Nemi-
nem eo fortuna provexit, ut non tantum illi minaretur,
quantum permiserat. Noli huic tranquillitati con-
fidere; momento mare evertitur. Eodem die ubi
8 luserunt navigia, sorbentur. Cogita posse et latronem
et hostem admovere iugulo tuo gladium: Ut potestas
maior absit, nemo non servus habet in te vitae necisque
arbitrium. Ita dico: quisquis vitam suam contemp-
sit, tuae dominus est. Recognosce exempla eorum,
qui domesticis insidiis perierunt, aut aperta vi aut
dolo; intelleges non pauciores servorum ira cecidisse
aaa regum. Quid ad te itaque, quam potens sit

« A reference to the murder of Caligula, on the Palatine,
A.vD. +1,

10

EPISTLE IV.

ing. Rehearse this thought every day, that you may
be able to depart from life contentedly; for many
men clutch and cling to life, even as those who are
carried down a rushing stream clutch and cling to
briars and sharp rocks.

Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between
the fear of death and the hardships of life; they are
unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how to
die. For this reason, make life as a whole agreeable
to yourself by banishing all worry about it. No good
thing renders its possessor happy, unless his mind is
reconciled to the possibility of loss; nothing, how-
ever, is lost with less discomfort than that which,
when lost, cannot be missed. Therefore, encourage
and toughen your spirit against the mishaps that
afflict even the most powerful. For example, the
fate of Pompey was settled by a boy and a eunuch,
that of Crassus by a cruel and insolent Parthian.
Gaius Caesar ordered Lepidus to bare his neck for
the axe of the tribune Dexter; and he himself offered
his own throat to Chaerea.* No man has ever been
so far advanced by Fortune that she did not threaten
him as greatly as she had previously indulged him.
Do not trust her seeming calm; in a moment the sea
is moved to its depths. The very day the ships have
made a brave show in the games, they are engulfed.
Reflect that a highwayman or an enemy may cut
your throat; and, though he is not your master,
every slave wields the power of life and death over
you. Therefore I declare to you: he is lord of your
life that scorns his own. Think of those who have
perished through plots in their own homes, slain
either openly or by guile; you will then understand
that just as many have been killed by angry slaves as
by angry kings. What matter, therefore, how power-

17

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quem times, cum id, propter quod times, nemo non

g possit? At si forte in manus hostium incideris, victor

10

Vt

te duciiubebit ; eo nempe, quo duceris. Quid te ipse
decipis et hoc nunc primum, quod olim patiebaris,
intellegis? Itadico: ex quo natus es, duceris. Haec
et eiusmodi versanda in animo sunt, si volumus
ultimam illam horam placidi expectare, cuius metus
omnes alias inquietas facit.

Sed ut finem epistulae inponam, accipe, quod mihi
hodierno die placuit. Et hoc quoque ex alienis hor-
tulis sumptum est. “Magnae divitiae sunt lege
naturae composita paupertas.’’ Lex autem illa
naturae scis quos nobis terminos statuat? Non
esurire, non sitire, non algere. Ut famem sitimque
depellas, non est necesse superbis adsidere liminibus
nec supercilium grave et contumeliosam etiam
humanitatem pati, non est necesse maria temptare
nec sequi castra; parabile est, quod natura desiderat,
et adpositum. Ad supervacua sudatur. Illa sunt,
quae togam conterunt, quae nos senescere sub
tentorio cogunt, quae in aliena litora inpingunt.
Ad manum est, quod sat est. Cui cum paupertate
bene convenit, dives est. VALE.

2 i.e., to death.
® The Garden of Epicurus. Fragg. 477 and 200 Usener.

18

EPISTLE IV.

ful he be whom you fear, when every one possesses the
power which inspires your fear? “ But,’ you will
say, “if you should chance to fall into the hands of
the enemy, the conqueror will command that you be
led away, —yes, whither you are already being led.
Why do you voluntarily deceive yourself and require
to be told now for the first time what fate it is that
you have long been labouring under? Take my word
for it: since the day you were born you are being
led thither. We must ponder this thought, and
thoughts of the like nature, if we desire to be calm
as we await that last hour, the fear of which makes
all previous hours uneasy.

But I must end my letter. Let me share with
you the saying which pleased me to-day. It, too,
is culled from another man’s Garden?: “ Poverty,
brought into conformity with the law of nature, is
great wealth.” Do you know what limits that law
of nature ordains for us? Merely to avert hunger,
thirst, and cold. In order to banish hunger and
thirst, it is not necessary for you to pay court at
the doors of the purse-proud, or to submit to the
stern frown, or to the kindness that humiliates; nor
is it necessary for you to scour the seas, or go
campaigning; nature’s needs are easily provided
and ready to hand. It is the superfluous things for
which men sweat,—the superfluous things that wear
our togas threadbare, that force us to grow old in
camp, that dash us upon foreign shores. That
which is enough is ready to our hands. He who
has made a fair compact with poverty is rich.
Farewell.

19

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Va

Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Quod pertinaciter studes et omnibus omissis hoc
unum agis, ut te meliorem cotidie facias, et probo et
gaudeo, nec tantum hortor, ut perseveres, sed etiam
rogo. Illud autem te admoneo, ne eorum more, qui
non proficere sed conspici cupiunt, facias aliqua,
quae in habitu tuo aut genere vitae notabilia sint.

2 Asperum cultum et intonsum caput et neglegentiorem
barbam et indictum argento odium et cubile humi
positum, et quicquid aliud ambitio nempe perversa !
via sequitur, evita. Satis ipsum nomen philosophiae,
etiam si modeste tractetur, invidiosum est; quid si
nos hominum consuetudini coeperimus excerpere ?
Intus omnia dissimilia sint, frons populo nostra

3 conveniat. Non splendeat toga, ne sordeat quidem.
Non habeamus argentum, in quod solidi auri caela-
tura descenderit, sed non putemus frugalitatis in-
dicium auro argentoque caruisse. Id agamus, ut
meliorem vitam sequamur quam vulgus, non ut con-
trariam ; alioquin quos emendari volumus, fugamus
a nobis et avertimus. I[llud quoque efficimus, ut
nihil imitari velint nostri, dum timent, ne imitanda
sint omnia.

4 Hoe primum philosophia promittit, sensum com-
munem, humanitatem et congregationem. A qua
professione dissimilitudo nos separabit. Videamus,

1 ambitio nempe perversa Gertz ; ambitionem perversa MSS.

20

EPISTLE V.
V. THE PHILOSOPHER’S MEAN

1 commend you and rejoice in the fact that you
are persistent in your studies, and that, putting all
else aside, you make it each day your endeavour to
become a better man. I do not merely exhort you
to keep at it; I actually beg you to doso. I warn
you, ee not to act ee the fashion of those
who desire to be conspicuous rather than to improve,
by doing things which will rouse comment as
regards your dress or general way of living. Re-
pellent attire, unkempt hair, slovenly beard, open
scorn of silver dishes, a couch on the bare earth,
and any other perverted forms of self-display, are
to be avoided. ‘The mere name of philosophy,
however quietly pursued, is an object of sufficient
scorn; and what would happen if we should begin to
separate ourselves from the customs of our fellow-men ?
Inwardly, we ought to be different in all respects,
but our exterior should conform to society. Do
not wear too fine, nor yet too frowzy, a toga. One
needs no silver plate, encrusted and embossed in
solid gold; but we should not believe the lack of
silver and gold to be proof of the simple life. Let
us try to maintain a higher standard of life than that
of the multitude, but not a contrary standard ; other-
wise, we shall frighten away and repel the very
persons whom we are trying to improve. We also
bring it about that they are unwilling to imitate us
in anything, because they are afraid lest they might
be compelled to imitate us in everything.

The first thing which philosophy undertakes to
give is fellow-feeling with all men; in other words,
sympathy and sociability. We part company with
our promise if we are unlike other men. We must

21

6

7

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ne ista, per quae admirationem parare volumus, ridi-
cula et odiosa sint. Nempe propositum nostrum est
secundum naturam vivere; hoc contra naturam est,
torquere corpus suum et faciles odisse munditias et
squalorem adpetere et cibis non tantum vilibus uti
sed taetris et horridis. Quemadmodum desiderare
delicatas res luxuriae est, ita usitatas et non magno
parabiles fugere dementiae. Frugalitatem exigit
philosophia, non poenam, potest autem esse non
incompta frugalitas. Hic mihi modus _placet :
temperetur vita inter bonos mores et publicos;
suspiciant omnes vitam nostram, sed agnoscant.

“Quid ergo? Eadem faciemus, quae ceteri?
Nihil inter nos et illos intererit?’’ Plurimum. Dis-
similes esse nos vulgo sciat, qui inspexerit propius.
Qui domum intraverit, nos potius miretur quam su-
pellectilem nostram. Magnus ille est, qui fictilibus
sic utitur quemadmodum argento. Nec ille minor
est, qui sic argento utitur quemadmodum fictilibus.
Infirmi animi est pati non posse divitias.

Sed ut huius quoque diei lucellum tecum com-
municem, apud Hecatonem nostrum inveni cupidi-
tatium finem etiam ad timoris remedia_proficere.
“ Desines,’ inquit, “timere, si sperare desieris.”
Dices: “ Quomodo ista tam diversa pariter eunt!?”
Ita est, mi Lucili: cum videantur dissidere, coniuncta
sunt. Quemadmodum eadem catena et custodiam
et militem copulat, sic ista, quae tam dissimilia sunt,
1 eunt Volkmann ; sunt MSS.

+ i.e. of the Stoic school. ® Frag. 25 Fowler.
22

EPISTLE V.

see to it that the means by which we wish to draw
admiration be not absurd and odious. Our motto,¢
as you know, is “ Live according to Nature”; but
it is quite contrary to nature to torture the body, to
hate unlaboured elegance, to be dirty on purpose, to
eat food that is not only plain, but disgusting and
forbidding. Just as it is a sign of luxury to seek
out dainties, so it is madness to avoid that which is
customary and can be purchased at no great price.
Philosophy calls for plain living, but not for penance ;
and we may perfectly well be plain and neat at the
same time. ‘This is the mean of which I approve ;
our life should observe a happy medium between
the ways of a sage and the ways of the world at
large; all men should admire it, but they should
understand it also.

«“ Well then, shall we act like other men? Shall
there be no distinction between ourselves and the
world?” Yes, a very great one; let men find that
we are unlike the common herd, if they look closely.
If they visit us at home, they should admire us,
rather than our household appointments. He is a
great man who uses earthenware dishes as if they
were silver; but he is equally great who uses silver
as if it were earthenware. It is the sign of an
unstable mind not to be able to endure riches.

But I wish to share with you to-day’s profit also.
I find in the writings of our ? Hecato that the limiting
of desires helps also to cure fears: “Cease to hope,”
he says, “and you will cease to fear.” “ But how,”
you will reply, “can things so different go side by
side?’’ In this way, my dear Lucilius: though they
do seem at variance, yet they are really united. Just
as the same chain fastens the prisoner and the soldier
who guards him, so hope and fear, dissimilar as they

VOL. I B2 23

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

8 pariter incedunt ; spem metus sequitur. Nec miror
ista sic ire ; utrumque pendentis animi est, utrumque
futuri exspectatione solliciti. Maxima autem utrius-
que causa est, quod non ad praesentia aptamur, sed
cogitationes in longinqua praemittimus. Itaque
providentia, maximum bonum condicionis humanae,

9in malum versa est. Ferae pericula, quae vident,
fugiunt ; cum effugere, securae sunt; nos et venturo
torquemur et praeterito. Multa bona nostra nobis
nocent, timoris enim tormentum memoria reducit,
providentia anticipat. Nemo tantum praesentibus
miser est. VALE.

VI.
Seneca LycILIO SVO SALVTEM

1 Intellego, Lucili, non emendari me tantum sed
transfigurari. Nec hoc promitto iam aut spero, nihil
in me superesse, quod mutandum sit. Quidni multa
habeam, quae debeant colligi, quae extenuari, quae
attolli? Et hoc ipsum argumentum est in melius
translati animi, quod vitia sua, quae adhue ignorabat,
videt. Quibusdam aegris gratulatio fit, cum ipsi
aegros se esse senserunt.

2 Cuperem itaque tecum communicare tam subitam
mutationem mei; tune amicitiae nostrae certiorem

fiduciam habere coepissem, illius verae, quam non
24

EPISTLES V., VI.

are, keep step together; fear follows hope. I am
not surprised that they proceed in this way; each
alike belongs to a mind that is in suspense, a mind
that is fretted by looking forward to the future.
But the chief cause of both these ills is that we do
not adapt ourselves to the present, but send our
thoughts a long way ahead. And so foresight, the
noblest blessing of the human race, becomes per-
verted. Beasts avoid the dangers which they see,
and when they have escaped them are free from
care; but we men torment ourselves over that which
is to come as well as over that which is past. Many
of our blessings bring bane to us; for memory recalls
the tortures of fear, while foresight anticipates them.
The present alone can make no man wretched.
Farewell.

VI. ON SHARING KNOWLEDGE

I feel, my dear Lucilius, that I am being not only
reformed, but transformed. I do not yet, however,
assure myself, or indulge the hope, that there are no
elements left in me which need to be changed. Of
course there are many that should be made more
compact, or made thinner, or be brought into
greater prominence. And indeed this very fact is
proof that my spirit is altered into something better,
—that it can see its own faults, of which it was
previously ignorant. In certain cases sick men are
congratulated because they themselves have per-
ceived that they are sick.

I therefore wish to impart to you this sudden
change in myself; I should then begin to place a
surer trust in our friendship,—the true friendship,

25

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

spes, non timor, non utilitatis suae cura divellit, illius,
cum qua homines moriuntur, pro qua moriuntur.

3 Multos tibi dabo, qui non amico, sed amicitia carue-
runt. Hoc non potest accidere, cum animos in
societatem honesta cupiendi par voluntas trahit.
Quidni non possit? Sciunt enim ipsos omnia habere
communia, et quidem magis adversa.

Concipere animo non potes, quantum momenti

4 adferre mihi singulos dies videam. “ Mitte,” inquis,
“et nobis ista, quae tam efficacia expertus es.” Ego
vero omnia in te cupio transfundere, et in hoe aliquid
gaudeo discere, ut doceam. Nec me ulla res delecta-
bit, licet sit eximia et salutaris, quam mihi uni
sciturus sum. Si cum hac exceptione detur sapientia,
ut illam inclusam teneam nec enuntiem, reiciam.
Nullius boni sine socio iucunda possessio est.

5 Mittam itaque ipsos tibi libros et ne multum
operae inpendas, dum passim profutura_ sectaris,
inponam notas, ut ad ipsa protinus, quae probo et
miror, accedas. Plus tamen tibi et viva vox et
convictus quam oratio proderit. In rem praesentem
venias oportet, primum, quia homines amplius oculis
quam auribus credunt; deinde, quia longum iter
est per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla.

6 Zenonem Cleanthes non expressisset, si tantummodo
audisset; vitae eius interfuit, secreta perspexit,

* Cf. Herodotus, i. 8 Gra ruyxdver dvOpwmow. édvta amiord-
Tena OPOaduwr,

20

EPISTLE VI.

which hope and fear and self-interest cannot sever,
the friendship in which and for the sake of which men
meet death. I can show you many who have lacked,
not a friend, but a friendship; this, however, cannot
possibly happen when souls are drawn together by
identical inclinations into an alliance of honourable
desires. And why can it not happen? Because in
such cases men know that they have all things in
common, especially their troubles.

You cannot conceive what distinct progress |
notice that each day brings to me. And when you
say: “ Give me also a share in these gifts which you
have found so helpful,” I reply that I am anxious to
heap all these privileges upon you, and that I am
glad to learn in order that I may teach. Nothing
will ever please me, no matter how excellent or
beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to
myself. And if wisdom were given me under the
express condition that it must be kept hidden and
not uttered, I should refuse it. No good thing is
pleasant to possess, without friends to share it.

I shall therefore send to you the actual books;
and in order that you may not waste time in search-
ing here and there for profitable topics, I shall mark
certain passages, so that you can turn at once to
those which I approve and admire. Of course,
however, the living voice and the intimacy of a
common life will help you more than the written
word. You must go to the scene of action, first,
because men put more faith in their eyes than in
their ears, and second, because the way is long if
one follows precepts, but short and helpful, if one
follows patterns. Cleanthes could not have been
the express image of Zeno, if he had merely heard
his lectures; he shared in his life, saw into his

27

Sa |

1

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

observavit illum, an ex formula sua viveret. Platon
et Aristoteles et omnis in diversum itura sapientium
turba plus ex moribus quam ex verbis Socratis traxit ;
Metrodorum et Hermarchum et Polyaenum magnos
viros non schola Epicuri sed contubernium fecit.
Nec in hoe te accerso tantum, ut proficias, sed ut
prosis ; plurimum enim alter alteri conferemus.
Interim quoniam diurnam tibi mercedulam debeo,
quid me hodie apud Hecatonem delectaverit dicam.
* Quaeris,’ inquit, “ quid profecerim? Amicus esse
mihi coepi.”’ Multum profecit ; numquam erit solus.

Scito hune amicum omnibus esse. VALE.

VII.
Seneca Lycintio svo SALVTEM

Quid tibi vitandum praecipue existimes, quaeris ?
Turbam. Nondum illi tuto committeris. Ego certe
confitebor inbecillitatem meam; numquam mores,
quos extuli, refero. Aliquid ex eo, quod conposui,
turbatur; aliquid ex iis, quae fugavi, redit. Quod
aegris evenit, quos longa inbecillitas usque €0

adfecit, ut nusquam sine offensa proferantur, hoc

¢ Frag. 26 Fowler.
28

EPISTLES VI., VIL.

hidden purposes, and watched him to see whether
he lived according to his own rules. Plato, Aristotle,
and the whole throng of sages who were destined to
go each his different way, derived more benefit from
the character than from the words of Socrates. It
was not the class-room of Epicurus, but living
together under the same roof, that made great men
of Metrodorus, Hermarchus, and Polyaenus. There-
fore I summon you, not merely that you may derive
benefit, but that you may confer benefit; for we
can assist each other greatly.

Meanwhile, I owe you my little daily contribution ;
you shall be told what pleased me to-day in the
writings of Hecato®%; it is these words: “ What
progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to
be a friend to myself.” That was indeed a great
benefit; such a person can never be alone. You
may be sure that such a man is a friend to ali
mankind. Farewell.

VII. ON CROWDS

Do you ask me what you should regard as
especially to be avoided? I say, crowds; for as yet
you cannot trust yourself to them with safety. I
shall admit my own weakness, at any rate; for I
never bring back home the same character that
I took abroad with me. Something of that which
I have forced to be calm within me is disturbed ; some
of the foes that I have routed return again. Just as
the sick man, who has been weak for a long time, is
in such a condition that he cannot be taken out of

29

2

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aceidit nobis, quorum animi ex longo morbo re-
ficiuntur. Inimica est multorum conversatio ; nemo
non aliquod nobis vitium aut commendat aut inprimit
aut nescientibus adlinit. Utique quo maior est
populus, cui miscemur, hoc periculi plus est.

Nihil vero tam damnosum bonis moribus quam in
aliquo spectaculo desidere. Tune enim per volup-
tatem facilius vitia subrepunt. Quid me existimas
dicere? Avarior redeo, ambitiosior, luxuriosior, im-
mo vero crudelior et inhumanior, quia inter homines
fui. Casu in meridianum spectaculum incidi lusus
expectans et sales et aliquid laxamenti, quo hominum
oculi ab humano cruore adquiescant; contra est.
Quicquid ante pugnatum est, misericordia fuit. Nune
omissis nugis mera homicidia sunt. Nihil habent quo
tegantur, ad ictum totis corporibus expositi numquam
frustra manum mittunt. Hoc plerique ordinariis pari-
bus et postulaticiis praeferunt. Quidni praeferant ?
Non galea, non scuto repellitur ferrum. Quo muni
menta? Quo artes? Omnia ists mortis morae sunt.
Mane leonibus et ursis homines, meridie spectatoribus
suis obiciuntur. Interfectores interfecturis iubent
obici et victorem in aliam detinent caedem. Exitus
pugnantium mors est ; ferro et igne res geritur. Haec

5 flunt, dum vacat harena. ‘Sed latrocinium fecit

@ During the luncheon interval condemned criminals were
often driven into the arena and compelled to fight, for the
amusement of those spectators who remained throughout the
day.

30

EPISTLE VII.

the house without suffering a relapse, so we ourselves
are affected when our souls are recovering from a
lingering disease. To consort with the crowd is
harmful; there is no person who does not make some
vice attractive to us, or stamp it upon us, or taint us
unconsciously therewith. Certainly, the greater the
mob with which we mingle, the greater the danger.
But nothing is so damaging to good character as
the habit of lounging at the games; for then it is
that vice steals subtly upon one through the avenue
of pleasure. What do you think I mean? I mean
that I come home more greedy, more ambitious, more
voluptuaus, and even more cruel and inhuman,—
because I> have been among human beings. By
chance I attended a mid-day exhibition, expecting
some fun, wit, and relaxation,—an exhibition at
which men’s eyes have respite from the slaughter of
their fellow-men. But it was quite the reverse.
‘The previous combats were the essence of com-
passion; but now all the trifling is put aside and it
is pure murder.* The men have no defensive armour.
They are exposed to blows at all points, and no one
ever strikes in vain. Many persons prefer this pro-
gramme to the usual pairs and to the bouts “by
request.”” Of course they do; there is no helmet
or shield to deflect the weapon. What is the need
of defensive armour, or of skill? All these mean
delaying death. In the morning they throw men to
the lions and the bears; at noon, they throw them
to the spectators. The spectators demand that the
slayer shall face the man who is to slay him in his
turn ; and they always reserve the latest conqueror
for another butchering. The outcome of every fight
is death, and the means are fire and sword. ‘This
sort of thing goes on while the arena isempty. You
31

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aliquis, occidit hominem.”” Quid ergo?! Quia occidit
ille, meruit ut hoc pateretur; tu quid meruisti miser,
ut hoe spectes? “ Occide, verbera, ure! Quare tam
timide incurrit in ferrum? Quare parum audacter
occidit? Quare parum libenter moritur? Plagis
agatur? in vulnera, mutuos ictus nudis et obviis
pectoribus excipiant.”” Intermissum est spectaculum:
“interim iugulentur homines, ne nihil agatur.”’

Age, ne hoc quidem intellegitis, mala exempla in
eos redundare, qui faciunt? Agite dis inmortalibus
gratias, quod eum docetis esse crudelem, qui non pot-
est discere. Subducendus populo est tener animus
et parum tenax recti; facile transitur ad_plures.
Socrati et Catoni et Laelio excutere morem suum dis-
similis multitudo potuisset ; adeo nemo nostrum, qui
cum maxime concinnamus ingenium, ferre impetum
vitiorum tam magno comitatu venientium potest.
Unum exemplum luxuriae aut avaritiae multum mali
facit ; convictor delicatus paulatim enervat et emollit,
vicinus dives cupiditatem inritat, malignus comes
quamvis candido et simplici rubiginem suam adfricuit.
Quid tu accidere his moribus credis, in quos publice
factus est impetus? Necesse est aut imiteris aut

oderis.

1 So Hense ; quid ergo occidit hominem MSS.
2 agatur Rossbach ; agitur MSS.

* The remark is addressed to the brutalized spectators,

32

EPISTLE VII.

may retort: “But he was a highway robber; he
killed a man!’’ And what of it? Granted that, as
a murderer, he deserved this punishment, what crime
have you committed, poor fellow, that you should
deserve to sit and see this show? In the morning
they cried “Kill him! Lash him! Burn him!
Why does he meet the sword in so cowardly a way ?
Why does he strike so feebly? Why doesn’t he die
game? Whip him to meet his wounds! Let them
receive blow for blow, with chests bare and exposed
to the stroke!” And when the games stop for
the intermission, they announce: “A little throat-
cutting in the meantime, so that there may still be
something gcing on!”

Come now; do you® not understand even this
truth, that a bad example reacts on the agent?
Thank the immortal gods that you are teaching
cruelty to a person who cannot learn to be cruel.
The young character, which cannot hold fast to
righteousness, must be rescued from the mob; it is
too easy to side with the majority. Even Socrates,
Cato, and Laelius might have been shaken in their
moral strength by a crowd that was unlike them; so
true it is that none of us, no matter how much he
cultivates his abilities, can withstand the shock of
faults that approach, as it were, with so great a
retinue. Much harm is done by a single case of
indulgence or greed; the familiar friend, if he be
luxurious, weakens and softens us imperceptibly ; the
neighbour, if he be rich, rouses our covetousness ; the
companion, if he be slanderous, rubs off some of his
rust upon us, even though we be spotless and sincere.
What then do you think the effect will be on char-
acter, when the world at large assaults it! You
must either imitate or loathe the world.

33

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

8 Utrumque autem devitandum est; neve similis
malis fias, quia multi sunt, neve inimicus multis, quia
dissimiles sunt. Recede in te ipsum, quantum potes.
Cum his versare, qui te meliorem facturi sunt. [los
admitte, quos tu potes facere meliores. Mutuo ista

9 fiunt, et homines, dum docent, discunt. Non est
quod te gloria publicandi ingenii producat in medium,
ut recitare istis velis aut disputare; quod facere te
vellem, si haberes isti populo idoneam mercem ; nemo
est, qui intellegere te possit. Aliquis fortasse, unus
aut alter incidet, et hic ipse formandus tibi erit in-
stituendusque ad intellectum tui. “Cui ergo ista
didici?’’ Non est quod timeas, ne operam perdideris;
tibi ! didicisti.

10 Sed ne soli mihi hodie didicerim, communicabo
tecum, quae occurrerunt mihi egregie dicta circa eun-
dem fere sensum tria; ex quibus unum haec epistula
in debitum solvet, duo in antecessum accipe. Demo-
critus ait: “Unus mihi pro populo est, et populus

11 pro uno.” Bene et ille, quisquis fuit, ambigitur enim
de auctore, cum quaereretur ab illo, quo tanta dili-
gentia artis spectaret ad paucissimos perventurae,
“ Satis sunt,’ inquit, “ mihi pauci, satis est unus, satis
est nullus.” Egregie hoc tertium Epicurus, cum uni

1 tibt b, Hense ; st tibt LP.
———E—— a a eee ee
« Frag. 302 Diels.
> Frag. 208 Usener.
34

EPISTLE VII.

But both courses are to be avoided; you should
not copy the bad simply because they are many, nor
should you hate the many because they are unlike
you. Withdraw into yourself, as far as you can.
Associate with those who will make a better man of
you. Welcome those whom you yourself can im-
prove. The process is mutual; for men learn while
they teach. There is no reason why pride in ad-
vertising your abilities should lure you into publicity,
so that you should desire to recite or harangue
before the general public. Of course I should be
willing for you to do so if you had a stock-in-trade
that suited such a mob; as it is, there is not a man
of them who can understand you. One or two in-
dividuals will perhaps come in your way, but even
these will have to be moulded and trained by you
so that they will understand you. You may say:
“For what purpose did [ learn all these things ?”’
But you need not fear that you have wasted your
efforts ; it was for yourself that you learned them.

In order, however, that I may not to-day have
learned exclusively for myself, I shall share with you
three excellent sayings, of the same general purport,
which have come to my attention. ‘This letter will
give you one of them as payment of my debt; the
other two you may accept as a contribution in advance.
Democritus? says: “One man means as much to
me as a multitude, and a multitude only as much
as one man.” ‘The following also was nobly spoken
by someone or other, for it is doubtful who the author
was; they asked him what> was the object of all this
study applied to an art that would reach but very
few. He replied: “Iam content with few, content
with one, content with none at all.” The third
saying—and a noteworthy one, too—is by Epicurus,”

35

12

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ex consortibus studiorum suorum scriberet: “ Haec,”
inquit, “ ego non multis, sed tibi ; satis enim magnum
alter alteri theatrum sumus.” Ista, mi Lucili, con-
denda in animum sunt, ut contemnas voluptatem ex
plurium adsensione venientem. Multi te laudant.
Ecquid ! habes, cur placeas tibi, si is es, quem intelle-
gant multi? Introrsus bona tua spectent. Vate.

VITT.

Seneca LyciLtio svo SALVTEM

“Tu me,’ inquis, “ vitare turbam iubes, secedere
et conscientia esse contentum? Ubi illa praecepta
vestra, quae imperant in actu mori?” Quod ego tibi
videor interim suadere, in hoc me recondidi et fores
clusi, ut prodesse pluribus possem. Nullus mihi per
otium dies exit. Partem noctium studiis vindico.
Non vaco somno sed succumbo, et oculos vigilia fati-
gatos cadentesque in opere detineo. Secessi non
tantum ab hominibus, sed a rebus, et inprimis a meis
rebus ; posterorum negotium ago; illis aliqua, quae
possint prodesse, conscribo. Salutares,admonitiones,
velut medicamentorum utilium compositiones, litteris
mando, esse illas efficaces in meis ulceribus expertus,
quae etiam si persanata non sunt, serpere desierunt.
1 ecquid Erasmus ; et guid MSS.

« As contrasted with the general Stoic doctrine of taking
part in the world’s work.

36

EPISTLES VIL, VIII.

written to one of the partners of his studies: “ |
write this not for the many, but for you; each of
us is enough of an audience for the other.” Lay
these words to heart, Lucilius, that you may scorn
the pleasure which comes from the applause of the
majority. Many men praise you; but have you any
reason for being pleased with yourself, if you are a
person whom the many can understand? Your good
qualities should face inwards. Farewell.

VIII. ON THE PHILOSOPHER’S SECLUSION

“ Do you bid me,” you say, “ shun the throng, and
withdraw from men, and be content with my own
conscience? Where are the counsels of your school,
which order a man to die in the midst of active work ?”’
As to the course * which I seem to you to be urging
on you now and then, my object in shutting myself
up and locking the door is to be able to help a greater
number. I never spend a day in idleness; I appro-
priate even a part of the night for study. I do not
allow time for sleep but yield to it when I must, and
when my eyes are wearied with waking and ready
to fall shut, I keep them at their task. I have with-
drawn not only from men, but from affairs, especially
from my own affairs; I am working for later genera-
tions, writing down some ideas that may be of assist-
ance tothem. There are certain wholesome counsels,
which may be compared to prescriptions of useful
drugs; these I am putting into writing; for I have
found them helpful in ministering to my own sores,
which, if not wholly cured, have at any rate ceased
to spread.

37

3

4

5

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Rectum iter, quod sero cognovi et lassus errando,
aliis monstro. Clamo: “ Vitate, quaecumque vulgo
placent, quae casus adtribuit. Ad omne fortuitum
bonum suspiciosi pavidique subsistite; et fera et
piscis spe aliqua oblectante decipitur. Munera ista
fortunae putatis? Insidiae sunt. Quisquis vestrum
tutam agere vitam volet, quantum plurimum potest,
ista viscata beneficia devitet, in quibus hoc quoque
miserrimi fallimur; habere nos putamus, haeremus.
In praecipitia cursus. iste deducit. Huius eminentis
vitae exitus cadere est. Deinde ne resistere quidem
licet, cum coepit transversos agere felicitas, aut saltim
rectis aut semel ruere; non evertit! fortuna, sed cer-
nulat et allidit.

Hance ergo sanam ac salubrem formam vitae tenete,
ut corpori tantum indulgeatis, quantum bonae vali-
tudini satis est. Durius tractandum est, ne animo
inale pareat. Cibus famem sedet, potio sitim extin-
guat, vestis arceat frigus, domus munimentum sit
adversus infesta corporis. Hane utrum caespes
erexerit an varius lapis gentis alienae, nihil interest ;
scitote tam bene hominem culmo quam auro tegi.
Contemnite omnia, quae supervacuus labor velut
ornamentum ac decus ponit. Cogitate nihil praeter

1 evertit the edition of Mentelin ; vertit MSS.

# See Ep. Ixxxv. 33 for the famous saying of the Rhodian
pilot.

> cernulat, equivalent to the Greek dvayacrifw, of a horse
which throws a rider over its head.

38

EPISTLE! Vir

I point other men to the right path, which I have
found late in life, when wearied with wandering. I cry
out to them: “ Avoid whatever pleases the throng :
avoid the gifts of Chance! Halt before every good
which Chance brings to you, in a spirit of doubt and
fear; for it is the dumb animals and fish that are de-
ceived by tempting hopes. Do you call these things
the ‘ gifts’ of Fortune? They are snares. And any
man among you who wishes to live a life of safety
will avoid, to the utmost of his power, these limed
twigs of her favour, by which we mortals, most
wretched in this respect also, are deceived; for we
think that we hold them in our grasp, but they hold
us in theirs. Such a career leads us into precipitous
ways, and life on such heights ends in a fall. More-
over, we cannot even stand up against prosperity
when she begins to drive us to leeward; nor can we
go down, either, ‘with the <hip at least on her
course, or once for all*%; Fortune does not capsize
us,—she plunges our bows under? and dashes us on
the rocks.

“ Hold fast, then, to this sound and wholesome
rule of life; that you indulge the body only so far
as is needful for good health. The body should be
treated more rigorously, that it may not be dis-
obedient to the mind. Eat merely to relieve your
hunger; drink merely to quench your thirst ; dress
merely to keep out the cold; house yourself merely
as a protection against personal discomfort. — It
matters little whether the house be built of turf, or
of variously coloured imported marble ; understand
that a man is sheltered just as well by a thatch as
by a roof of gold. Despise everything that useless
toil creates as an ornament and an object of beauty.
And reflect that nothing except the soul is worthy

39

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

animum esse mirabile, cui magno nihil magnum
est.”’

6 Si haec mecum, si haec cum posteris loquor, non
videor tibi plus prodesse, quam cum ad vadimonium
advocatus descenderem, aut tabulis testamenti anu-
lum inprimerem, aut in senatu candidato vocem et
manum commodarem? Mihi crede, qui nihil agere
videntur, maiora agunt; humana divinaque simul
tractant.

7 ~~ Sed iam finis faciendus est et aliquid, ut institui,
pro hac epistula dependendum. Id non de meo fiet ;
adhuc Epicurum complicamus, cuius hane vocem
hodierno die legi: “ Philosophiae servias oportet, ut
tibi contingat vera libertas.”” Non differtur in diem,
qui se illi “subiecit et tradidit; statim circumagitur.
Hoe enim ipsum philosophiae servire libertas est.

8 Potest fieri, ut me interroges, quare ab Epicuro
iam multa bene dicta referam potius quam nostrorum.
Quid est tamen, quare tu istas Epicuri voces putes
esse, non publicas? Quam multi poetae dicunt,
quae philosophis aut dicta sunt aut dicenda! Non
adtingam tragicos nec togatas nostras. Habent
enim hae quoque aliquid severitatis et sunt inter
comoedias ac tragoedias mediae. Quantum disertissi-
morum versuum inter mimos iacet! Quam multa
Publilii non excalceatis, sed coturnatis dicenda sunt !

9 Unum versum eius, qui ad philosophiam pertinet et

* Cf. the Stoic precept ‘‘ nil admirandum.”

5 Frag. 199 Usener.

« Literally **spun round” by the master and dismissed
to freedom. Cf. Persius, v. 75 f.

“ Fabulae togatae were plays which dealt with Roman
subject matter, as contrasted with adaptations from the
Greek, called palliatae. ‘The term, in the widest sense,
includes both comedy and tragedy.

* 7.¢., comedians or mimes.

40

EPISTLE VIII.

of wonder; for to the soul, if it be great, naught
is great. *

When I commune in such terms with myself and
with future generations, do you not think that I am
doing more good than when I appear as counsel in
court, or stamp my seal upon a will, or lend my
assistance in the senate, by word or action, to a
candidate? Believe me, those who seem to be
busied with nothing are busied with the greater
tasks; they are dealing at the same time with things
mortal and things immortal.

But I must stop, and pay my customary contribu-
tion, to balance this letter. The payment shall not
be made from my own property; for I am still
conning Epicurus.? I read to-day, in his works, the
following sentence: “If you would enjoy real
freedom, you must be the slave of Philosophy.”
The man who submits and surrenders himself to
her is not kept waiting; he is emancipated *¢ on the
spot. For the very service of Philosophy is freedom.

It is likely that you will ask me why I quote so
many of Epicurus’s noble words instead of words
taken from our own school. But is there any reason
why you should regard them as sayings of Epicurus
and not common property? How many poets give
forth ideas that have been uttered, or may be uttered,
by philosophers! I need not touch upon the traged-
ians and our writers of national drama?%; for these
last are also somewhat serious, and stand half-way
between comedy and tragedy. What a quantity
of sagacious verses lie buried in the mime! How
many of Publilius’s lines are worthy of being spoken
by buskin-clad actors, as well as by wearers of the
slipper¢! 1 shall quote one verse of his, which
concerns philosophy, and particularly that phase

41

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ad hance partem, quae modo fuit in manibus, referam,
quo negat fortuita in nostro habenda:

Alienum est omne, quicquid optando evenit.

10 Hune sensum ! a te dici non paulo melius et 2 adstric-
tius memini:

Non est tuum, fortuna quod fecit tuum.
Illud etiamnunc melius dictum a te non praeteribo ;

Dari bonum quod potuit, auferri potest.

Hoc non inputo in solutum; dedi? de tuo tibi.

IX.

Seneca Lwvcitio svo SALVTEM

1 Anmerito reprehendat in quadamepistula Epicurus
eos, qui dicunt sapientem se ipso esse contentum et
propter hoc amico non indigere, desideras scire. Hoc
obicitur Stilboni ab Epicuro et iis quibus summum
bonum visum est animus inpatiens.

2 In ambiguitatem incidendum est, si exprimere
amdfevav uno verbo cito voluerimus et inpatientiam
dicere. Poterit enim contrarium ei, quod significare
volumus, intellegi. Nos eum volumus dicere, qui
respuat omnis mali sensum ; accipietur is, qui nullum

1 sensum Buecheler ; versum MSS.
2 et Muretus ; sed MSS.
3 dedi inserted by Hense.
@ Syri Sententiae, p. 309 Ribbeck?.
» Com. Rom. Frag. p. 394 Ribbeck?.
© ibidem. 4 Frag. 174 Usener. ¢ 1.6, the Cynics,

42

EPISTLES VIII, IX.

of it which we were discussing a moment ago,
wherein he says that the gifts of Chance are not to
be regarded as part of our possessions :

Still alien is whatever you have gained

By coveting.*
I recall that you yourself expressed this idea much
more happily and concisely :

What Chance has made yours is not really yours.’

And a third, spoken by you still more happily, shall
not be omitted :

The good that could be given, can be removed.¢

I shall not charge this up to the expense account,
because I have givenit to you from your own stock.
Farewell.

IX. ON PHILOSOPHY AND FRIENDSHIP

You desire to know whether Epicurus is right when,
in one of his letters,4 he rebukes those who hold that
the wise man is self-sufficient and for that reason does
not stand in need of friendships. This is the objection
raised by Epicurus against Stilbo and those who
believe © that the Supreme Good is a soul which is
insensible to feeling.

We are bound to meet with a double meaning if we
try to express the Greek term “lack of feeling”’
summarily, in a single word, rendering it by the Latin
word impatientia. For it may be understood in the
meaning the opposite to that which we wish it to have.
What we mean to express is, a soul which rejects any
sensation of evil; but people will interpret the idea

43

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ferre possit malum. Vide ergo, num satius sit aut
invulnerabilem animum dicere aut animum extra

3 omnem patientiam positum. Hoc inter nos et illos
interest: noster sapiens vincit quidem incommodum
omne, sed sentit; illorum ne sentit quidem. I[llud
nobis et illis commune est: sapientem se ipso esse
contentum. Sed tamen et amicum habere vult et
vicinum et contubernalem, quamvis sibi ipse sufficiat.

4 Vide quam sit se coutentus; aliquando sui parte
contentus est. Si illi manum aut morbus aut hostis
exciderit, si quis oculum vel oculos casus excusserit,
reliquiae illi suae satisfacient, et erit inminuto cor-
pore et amputato tam laetus, quam integro! fuit. Sed

5 quae si? desunt, non desiderat, non deesse mavult. Ita
sapiens se contentus est, non ut velit esse sine amico,
sed ut possit. Et hoc, quod dico “ possit,” tale est:
amissum aequo animo fert.

Sine amico quidem numquam erit. In sua potestate
habet, quam cito reparet. Quomodo si perdiderit
Phidias statuam, protinus alteram faciet; sic hic
faciendarum amicitiarum artifex substituet alium

6in locum amissi. Quaeris, quomodo amicum cito
facturus sit; dicam, si illud mihi tecum convenerit,
ut statim tibi solvam, quod debeo, et quantum ad
hanc epistulam, paria faciamus. Hecaton ait: “ Ego
tibi monstrabo amatorium sine medicamento, sine
herba, sine ullius veneficae carmine: si vis amari,
ama.” Habet autem non tantum usus amicitiae

1 integro b!; in integro the other MSS.
2 si Buecheler and Watzinger ; sibi MSS.

4 j.e.,theCynics. ° i.e., the diurna mercedula ; see Ep. vi. 7.
¢ Frag. 27 Fowler.

44

EPISTLE IX.

as that cf a soul which can endure no evil. Consider,
therefore, whether it is not better tosay “a soul that
cannot be harmed,” or ‘‘a soul entirely beyond the
realm of suffering.” ‘There is this difference between
ourselves and the other school ®: our ideal wise man
feels his troubles, but overcomes them; their wise
man does not even feelthem. But we and they alike
hold this idea,—that the wise man is self-sufficient.
Nevertheless, he desires friends, neighbours, and
associates, no matter how much he is sufficient unto
himself. And mark how self-sufficient he is; for on
occasion he can be content with a part of himself. If
he lose a hand through disease or war, or if some
accident puts out one or both of his eyes, he will be
satisfied with what is left, taking as much pleasure
in his impaired and maimed body as he took when it
was sound. But while he does not pine for these
parts if they are missing, he prefers not to lose
them. In this sense the wise man is self-sut-
ficient, that he can do without friends, not that he
desires to do without them. When I say “can,”
I mean this: he endures the loss of a friend with
equanimity.

But he need never lack friends, for it lies in his
own control how soon he shall make good a loss.
Just as Phidias, if he lose a statue, can straightway
carve another, even so our master in the art of
making friendships can fill the place of a friend he
has lost. If you ask how one can make oneself a
friend quickly, I will tell you, provided we are agreed
that I may pay my debt? at once and square the
account, so far as this letter is concerned. Hecato°
says: “I can show you a philtre, compounded with-
out drugs, herbs, or any witch’s incantation: ‘It
you would be loved, love.’’”” Now there is great

45

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

veteris et certae magnam voluptatem, sed etiam

7 initium et comparatio novae. Quod interest inter
metentem agricolam et serentem, hoc inter eum, qui
amicum paravit et qui parat. Attalus philosophus
dicere solebat iucundius esse amicum facere quam
habere, quomodo artifici iucundius pingere est quam
pinxisse. Illa in opere suo occupata sollicitudo in-
gens oblectamentum habet in ipsa occupatione. Non
aeque delectatur, qui ab opere perfecto removit
manum. Iam fructu artis suae fruitur; ipsa frue-
batur arte, cum pingeret. Fructuosior est adule-
scentia liberorum, sed infantia dulcior.

8 Nunc ad propositum revertamur. Sapiens, etiam
si contentus est se, tamen habere amicum vult, si
nihil aliud, ut exerceat amicitiam, ne tam magna
virtus iaceat, non ad hoc, quod dicebat Epicurus in
hac ipsa epistula, “ ut habeat, qui sibi aegro adsideat,
succurrat in vincula coniecto vel inopi,’ sed ut habeat
aliquem, cui ipse aegro adsideat, quem ipse circum-
ventum hostili custodia liberet. Qui se spectat et
propter hoc ad amicitiam venit, male cogitat. Quem-
admodum coepit, sic desinet: paravit amicum ad-
versum vincla laturum opem; cum primum crepuerit

9 catena, discedet. Hae sunt amicitiae, quas tem-
porarias populus appellat; qui utilitatis causa ad-
sumptus est, tamdiu placebit, quamdiu utilis fuerit.

46

@ Frag. 175 Usener.

EPISTLE IX.

pleasure, not only in maintaining old and established
friendships, but also in beginning and acquiring new
ones. ‘There is the same difference between winning
a new friend and having already won him, as there is
between the farmer who sows and the farmer who
reaps. The philosopher Attalus used to say: “It is
more pleasant to make than to keep a friend, as it is
more pleasant to the artist to paint than to have
finished painting.” When one is busy and absorbed
in one’s work, the very absorption affords great de-
light ; but when one has withdrawn one’s hand from
the completed masterpiece, the pleasure is not so
keen. Henceforth it is the fruits of his art that he
enjoys; it was the art itself that he enjoyed while
he was painting. In the case of our children, their
young manhood yields the more abundant fruits, but
their infancy was sweeter.

Let us now return to the question. The wise man,
I say, self-sufficient though he be, nevertheless desires
friends if only for the purpose of practising friendship,
in order that his noble qualities may not lie dormant.
Not, however, for the purpose mentioned by Epicurus*
in the letter quoted above: “That there may be
someone to sit by him when he is ill, to help him
when he is in prison or in want;”’ but that he may
have someone by whose sick-bed he himself may
sit, someone a prisoner in hostile hands whom he
himself may set free. He who regards himself only,
and enters upon friendships for this reason, reckons
wrongly. The end will be like the beginning: he
has made friends with one who might assist him out
of bondage; at the first rattle of the chain such a
friend will desert him. These are the so-called
“ fair-weather”’ friendships; one who is chosen for
the sake of utility will be satisfactory only so long as

VOL. I Cc 47

10

i

12

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Hac re florentes amicorum turba circumsedet; circa
eversos solitudo est, et inde amici fugiunt, ubi pro-
bantur. Hac re ista tot nefaria exempla sunt aliorum
metu relinquentium, aliorum metu _prodentium.
Necesse est initia inter se et exitus congruant. Qui
amicus esse coepit, quia expedit, et desinet,! quia
expedit. Placebit aliquod pretium contra amicitiam,
si ullum in illa placet praeter ipsam.

In quid amicum pare? Ut habeam pro quo mori
possim, ut habeam quem in exilium sequar, cuius me
morti opponam? etinpendam. Ista, quam tu describis,
negotiatio est, non amicitia, quae ad commodum ac-
cedit, quae quid * consecutura sit spectat. Non dubie
habet aliquid simile amicitiae affectus amantium ; possis
dicere illam esse insanam amicitiam. Numquid ergo
quisquam amat lucri causa? Numquid ambitionis aut
gloriae? Ipse per se amor omnium aliarum rerum
neglegens animos in cupiditatem formae non sine spe
mutuae caritatis accendit. Quidergo? Ex honestiore
causa coit turpis adfectus? “Non agitur,” inquis,
“ nunc de hoc, an amicitia propter se ipsam adpetenda
sit.” Immo vero nihil magis probandum est. Nam si
propterse ipsam expetenda est, potest ad illam accedere
qui se ipso contentus est. “ Quomodo ergo ad illam
accedit?’’ Quomodo ad rem pulcherrimam, non

1 quia expedit, et desinet, added by Haase.

2 et before opponam omitted by many editors, but re-
tained by Hense. opponam is used in the double meaning
of ‘‘ set against’ and ‘‘ mortgage,” cf. Catullus xxvi. 2.

payee ue later MSS. ; quae quicquid MSS. ; quaeque
quid Buecheler.

2 «¢Pure love,” 7.¢., love in its essence, unalloyed with
other emotions.

48

EPISTLE IX.

he is useful. Hence prosperous men are blockaded
by troops of friends ; but those who have failed stand
amid vast loneliness, their friends fleeing from the
very crisis which is to test their worth. Hence, also,
we notice those many shameful cases of persons who,
through fear, desert or betray. The beginning and
the end cannot but harmonize. He who begins to
be your friend because it pays will also cease because
it pays. A man will be attracted by some reward
offered in exchange for his friendship, if he be
attracted by aught in friendship other than friend-
ship itself.

For what purpose, then, do I make a man my
friend? In order to have someone for whom I may
die, whom I may follow into exile, against whose
death I may stake my own life, and pay the pledge,
too. The friendship which you portray is a bargain
and not a friendship; it regards convenience only,
and looks to the results. Beyond question the feel-
ing of a lover has in it something akin to friendship ;
one might call it friendship run mad. But, though
this is true, does anyone love for the sake of gain,
or promotion, or renown? Pure® love, careless of
all other things, kindles the soul with desire for the
beautiful object, not without the hope of a return
of the affection. What then? Can a cause which
is more honourable produce a passion that is base ?
You may retort: “We are not now discussing the
question whether friendship is to be cultivated for
its own sake.” On the contrary, nothing more
urgently requires demonstration ; for if friendship is
to be sought for its own sake, he may seek it who
is self-sufficient. ‘ How, then,” you ask, “does he
seek it?’’ Precisely as he seeks an object of great
beauty, not attracted to it by desire for gain, nor

49

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

lucro captus nec varietate fortunae perterritus. De-
trahit amicitiae maiestatem suam, qui illam parat ad
bonos casus.

13 Se contentus est sapiens. Hoc, mi Lucili, plerique
perperam interpretantur; sapientem undique sub-
movent et intra cutem suam cogunt. Distinguendum
autem est, quid et quatenus vox ista promittat; se con-
tentus est sapiens ad beate vivendum, nonad vivendum.
Ad hoc enim multis illi rebus opus est, ad illud tantum
animo sano et erecto et despiciente fortunam.

14 = Volo tibi Chrysippi quoque distinctionem indicare.
Ait sapientem nulla re egere, et tamen multis illi
rebus opus esse. “Contra stulto nulla re opus est,
nulla enim re uti scit, sed omnibus eget.” Sapienti
et manibus et oculis et multis ad cotidianum usum
necessariis opus est, eget nulla re. Egere enim

15 necessitatis est, nihil necesse sapienti est. Ergo
quamvis se ipso contentus sit, amicis illi opus est.
Hos cupit habere quam plurimos, non ut beate vivat ;
vivet enim etiam sine amicis beate. Summum
bonum extrinsecus instrumenta non quaerit. Domi
colitur, ex se totum est. Incipit fortunae esse
subiectum,! si quam partem sui foris quaerit.

16 “Qualis tamen futura est vita sapientis, si sine
amicis relinquatur in custodiam coniectus, vel in
aliqua gente aliena destitutus, vel in navigatione
longa retentus, aut in desertum litus eiectus?”

1 subiectum Erasmus ; subiectus MSS.

« Cf. his Frag. moral. 674 von Arnim.

’ The distinction is based upon the meaning of egere,
“*to be in want of” something indispensable, and opus esse,
**to have need of ” something which one can do without.

50

EPISTLE IX.

yet frightened by the instability of Fortune. One
who seeks friendship for favourable occasions, strips
it of all its nobility.

“The wise man is self-sufficient.” This phrase,
my dear Lucilius, is incorrectly explained by many ;
for they withdraw the wise man from the world, and
force him to dwell within his own skin. But we
must mark with care what this sentence signifies
and how far it applies; the wise man is sufficient
unto himself for a happy existence, but not for mere
existence. For he needs many helps towards mere
existence ; but for a happy existence he needs only
a sound and upright soul, one that despises Fortune.

I should like also to state to you one of the
distinctions of Chrysippus,* who declares that the
wise man is in want of nothing, and yet needs many
things. “On the other hand,” he says, “ nothing is
needed by the fool, for he does not understand how
to use anything, but he is in want of everything.”
The wise man needs hands, eyes, and many things that
are necessary for his daily use; but he is in want of
nothing. For want implies a necessity, and nothing
is necessary to the wise man. Therefore, although
he is self-sufficient, yet he has need of friends. He
craves as many friends as possible, not, however,
that he may live happily; for he will live happily
even without friends. The Supreme Good calls for
no practical aids from outside; it is developed at
home, and arises entirely within itself. If the good
seeks any portion of itself from without, it begins to
be subject to the play of Fortune.

People may say: “But what sort of existence
will the wise man have, if he be left friendless when
thrown into prison, or when stranded in some foreign
nation, or when delayed on a long voyage, or when

51

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Qualis est Iovis, cum resoluto mundo et dis in unum
confusis paulisper cessante natura adquiescit sibi
cogitationibus suis traditus. Tale quiddam sapiens
17 facit ; in se reconditur, secum est. Quamdiu quidem
illi licet suo arbitrio res suas ordinare, se contentus
est et ducit uxorem; se contentus est! et liberos
tollit; se contentus est et tamen non viveret, si
foret sine homine victurus. Ad amicitiam fert illum
nulla utilitas sua, sed naturalis inritatio. Nam ut
aliarum nobis rerum innata dulcedo est, sic amicitiae.
Quomodo solitudinis? odium est et adpetitio societatis,
quomodo hominem homini natura conciliat, sic inest
huic quoque rei stimulus, qui nos amicitiarum ad-
18 petentes faciat. Nihilominus cum sit amicorum
amantissimus, cum illos sibi comparet, saepe prae-
ferat, omne intra se bonum terminabit et dicet,
quod Stilbon ille dixit, Stilbon quem Epicuri epistula
insequitur; hic enim capta patria, amissis liberis,
amissa uxore cum ex incendio publico solus et tamen
beatus exiret, interroganti Demetrio, cui cognomen
ab exitio urbium Poliorcetes fuit, numquid perdi-
disset, “ Omnia,” inquit, “bona mea mecum sunt.”
19 Kece vir fortis ac strenuus! Ipsam_ hostis sui
victoriam vicit. “ Nihil,” inquit, “ perdidi’’; dubitare
illum coegit, an vicisset. “QOmnia mea mecum

1 est added by editors.
2 solitudinis Haupt ; solitudo in MSS.

« This refers to the Stoic conflagration; after certain
cycles their world was destroyed by fire. Cf E. V. Arnold,
Roman Stoicism, pp. 192 f. ; cf. also Chrysippus, Frag. phys.
1065 von Arnim.

» Gnomologici Vaticani 515* Sternberg.

52

EPISTLE IX.

cast upon a lonely shore?”’ His life will be like that
of Jupiter, who, amid the dissolution of the world,
when the gods are confounded together and Nature
rests for a space from her work, can retire into him-
self and give himself over to his own thoughts.
In some such way as this the sage will act; he will
retreat into himself, and live with himself. As long
as he is allowed to order his affairs according to his
judgment, he is self-sufficient—and marries a wife ;
he is self-sufficient—and brings up children; he is
self-sufficient—and yet could not live if he had to
live without the society of man. Natural promptings,
and not his own selfish needs, draw him into friend-
ships. For just as other things have for us an
inherent attractiveness, so has friendship. As we
hate solitude and crave society, as nature draws men
to each other, so in this matter also there is an
attraction which makes us desirous of friendship.
Nevertheless, though the sage may love his friends
dearly, often comparing them with himself, and
putting them ahead of himself, yet all the good will
be limited to his own being, and he will speak the
words which were spoken by the very Stilbo® whom
Fpicurus criticizes in his letter. For Stilbo, after
his country was captured and his children and his
wife lost, as he emerged from the general desolation
alone and yet happy, spoke as follows to Demetrius,
called Sacker of Cities because of the destruction
he brought upon them, in answer to the question
whether he had lost anything: “I have all my goods
with me!” There is a brave and stout-hearted
man for you! The enemy conquered, but Stilbo
conquered his conqueror. “I have lost nothing!”
Aye, he forced Demetrius to wonder whether he
himself had conquered after all. ‘My goods are

53

20

21

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sunt! ;’’ hoc ipsum est nihil bonum putare, quod eripi
possit.

Miramur animalia quaedam, quae per medios ignes
sine noxa corporum transeant ; quanto hic mirabilior
vir, qui per ferrum et ruinas et ignes inlaesus et in-
demnis evasit! Vides, quanto facilius sit totam
gentem quam unum virum vincere? Haec vox illi
communis est cum Stoico. Aeque et hic intacta bona
per concrematas urbes fert. Se enim ipso contentus
est. Hoc felicitatem suam fine designat.

Ne existimes nos solos generosa verba iactare; et
ipse Stilbonis obiurgator Epicurus similem illi vocem
emisit, quam tu boni consule, etiam si hune diem iam
expunxi. “Si cui,’ inquit, “sua non videntur am-
plissima, licet totius mundi dominus sit, tamen miser
est.”’ Velsi hoc modo tibi melius enuntiari videtur,—
id enim agendum est, ut non verbis serviamus, sed
sensibus,— : “ Miser est, qui se non beatissimum iudi-
cat, licet imperet mundo.” Utscias autem hos sensus
esse communes, natura scilicet dictante, apud poetam
comicum invenies :

Non est beatus, esse se qui non putat.

Quid enim refert, qualis status tuus sit, si tibi vide-

22 tur malus? “Quid ergo?” inquis. “Si beatum se

dixerit ille turpiter dives et ille multorum dominus
sed plurium servus, beatus sua sententia fiet?”” Non

1 id est iustitra, virtus, prudentia, after sunt, most MSS. ;
deleted by Buecheler.

@ Frag. 474 Usener. » Cf. above, § 6.

© t.¢., not confined to the Stoics, etc.

@ Author unknown; perhaps, as Buecheler thinks, adapted
from the Greek.

54

EPISTLE IX.

all with me!”’’ In other words, he deemed nothing
that might be taken from him to be a good.

We marvel at certain animals because they can
pass through fire and suffer no bodily harm; but how
much more marvellous is a man who has marched
forth unhurt and unscathed through fire and sword
and devastation! Do you understand now how
much easier it is to conquer a whole tribe than to
conquer one man? This saying of Stilbo makes
common ground with Stoicism; the Stoic also can
carry his goods unimpaired through cities that have
been burned to ashes; for he is self-sufficient. Such
are the bounds which he sets to his own happiness.

But you must not think that our school alone can
utter noble words; Epicurus himself, the reviler of
Stilbo, spoke similar language*; put it down to my
credit, though I have already wiped out my debt for
the present day.? He says: “Whoever does not
regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy,
though he be master of the whole world.” Or, if
the following seems to you a more suitable phrase,—
for we must try to render the meaning and not the
mere words: “A man may rule the world and still
be unhappy, if he does not feel that he is supremely
happy.” In order, however, that you may know
that these sentiments are universal,‘ suggested, of
course, by Nature, you will find in one of the comic
poets this verse :

Unblest is he who thinks himself unblest.¢

For what does your condition matter, if it is bad in
your own eyes? You may say: “What then? If
yonder man, rich by base means, and yonder man,
lord of many but slave of more, shall call themselves
happy, will their own opinion make them happy ?”’

VOL. I e@2 55

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quid dicat, sed quid sentiat, refert, nec quid uno die
sentiat, sed quid adsidue. Non est autem quod
verearis, ne ad indignum res tanta perveniat; nisi
sapienti sua non placent. Omnis stultitia laborat
fastidio sui. VAaLe.

>. @
Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 Sic est, non muto sententiam: fuge multitudinem,
fuge paucitatem, fuge etiam unum. Non habeo, cum
quo te communicatum velim. Et vide, quod iudicium
meum habeas: audeo te tibi credere. Crates, ut
aiunt, huius ipsius Stilbonis auditor, cuius mentionem
priore epistula feci, cum vidisset adulescentulum
secreto ambulantem, interrogavit, quid illic solus
faceret? ‘“ Mecum,” inquit, “loquor.” Cui Crates
“Cave,” inquit, “rogo, et diligenter adtende; cum
homine malo loqueris.”’

2 Lugentem timentemque custodire solemus, ne
solitudine male utatur. Nemo est.ex inprudentibus,
qui relinqui sibi debeat ; tunc mala consilia agitant,
tunc aut aliis aut ipsis futura pericula struunt; tunc
cupiditates improbas ordinant; tune quicquid aut
metu aut pudore celabat, animus exponit, tunc
audaciam acuit, libidinem inritat, iracundiam instigat.
Denique quod unum solitudo habet commodum,
nihil ulli committere, non timere indicem, perit
stulto ; ipse se prodit.

Vide itaque, quid de te sperem, immo quid spon-

56

EPISTLES IX., X.

It matters not what one says, but what one feels;
also, not how one feels on one particular day, but
how one feels at all times. There is no reason,
however, why you should fear that this great privilege
will fall into unworthy hands; only the wise man is
pleased with his own. Folly is ever troubled with
weariness of itself. Farewell.

X. ON LIVING TO ONESELF

Yes, Ido not change my opinion: avoid the many,
avoid the few, avoid even the individual. I know
of no one with whom I should be willing to have you
shared. And see what an opinion of you I have; for
I dare to trust you with your own self. Crates, they
say, the disciple of the very Stilbo whom I mentioned
in a former letter, noticed a young man walking by
himself, and asked him what he was doing all alone.
“JT am communing with myself,” replied the youth.
“Pray be careful, then,” said Crates, “and take
good heed ; you are communing with a bad man!”

When persons are in mourning, or fearful about
something, we are accustomed to watch them that
we may prevent them from making a wrong use of
their loneliness. No thoughtless person ought to be
left alone; in such cases he only plans folly, and
heaps up future dangers for himself or for others; he
brings into play his base desires; the mind displays
what fear or shame used to repress; it whets his
boldness, stirs his passions, and goads his anger. And
finally, the only benefit that solitude confers,—the
habit of trusting no man, and of fearing no witnesses,
—is lost to the fool; for he betrays himself.

Mark therefore what my hopes are for you,—nay,

57

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

deam mihi, spes enim incerti boni nomen est: non

3 invenio, cum quo te malim esse quam tecum. Repeto
memoria, quam magno animo quaedam verba proie-
ceris, quanti roboris plena. Gratulatus sum protinus
mihi et dixi: “ Non a summis labris ista venerunt,
habent hae voces fundamentum. Iste homo non est

4 unus e populo, ad salutem spectat.’’ Sic loquere, sic
vive ; vide ne te ulla res deprimat. Votorum tuorum
veterum licet dis gratiam facids, alia de integro sus:
cipe ; roga bonam mentem, bonam valitudinem animi,
deinde tunc corporis. Quidni tu ista vota saepe
facias? Audacter deum roga; nihil illum de alieno
rogaturus es.

5 Sed ut more meo cum aliquo munusculo epistulam
mittam, verum est, quod apud Athenodoruim inveni:
« Tunc scito esse te omnibus cupiditatibus solutum,
cum eo perveneris, ut nihil deum roges, nisi quod
rogare possis palam.”” Nune enim quanta dementia
est hominum! Turpissima vota dis insusurrant; si
quis admoverit aurem, conticescent. Et quod scire
hominem nolunt, deo narrant. Vide ergo, ne hoc
praecipi salubriter possit: sic vive cum hominibus,
tamquam deus videat ; sic loquere cum deo, tamquam
homines audiant. VALe.

@ Frag. de superstitione 36 H., according to Rossbach.

58

EPISTLE X.

rather, what I am promising myself, inasmuch as
hope is merely the title of an uncertain blessing: I
do not know any person with whom I should prefer
you to associate rather than yourself. I remember
in what a great-souled way you hurled forth certain
phrases, and how full of strength they were! I im-
mediately congratulated myself and said: “These
words did not come from the edge of the lips; these
utterances have a solid foundation. This man is not
one of the many ; he has regard for his real welfare.”
Speak, and live, in this way; see to it that nothing
keeps you down. As for your former prayers, you
may dispense the gods from answering them; offer
new prayers; pray for a sound mind and for good
health, first of soul and then of body. And of
course you should offer those prayers frequently.
Call boldly upon God; you will not be asking him
for that which belongs to another.

But I must, as is my custom, send a little gift
along with this letter. It is a true saying which I
have found in Athenodorus®: “ Know that thou art
freed from all desires when thou hast reached such a
point that thou prayest to God for nothing except
what thou canst pray for openly.” But how foolish
men are now! ‘They whisper the basest of prayers
to heaven; but if anyone listens, they are silent at
once. That which they are unwilling for men to
know, they communicate to God. Do you not think,
then, that some such wholesome advice as this could
be given you: “ Live among men as if God beheld you;
speak with God as if men were listening ’’? Farewell.

59

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XI.

SENECA LvcILio svO SALVTEM

1 Locutus est mecum amicus tuus bonae indolis, in
quo quantum esset animi, quantum ingenii, quantum
iam etiam profectus, sermo primus ostendit. Dedit
nobis gustum, ad quem respondebit. Non enim ex
praeparato locutus est, sed subito deprehensus. Ubi
se colligebat, verecundiam, bonum in adulescente
signum, vix potuit excutere ; adeo illi ex alto suffusus
est rubor. Hic illum, quantum suspicor, etiam cum
se confirmaverit et omnibus vitiis exuerit, sapientem
quoque sequetur. Nulla enim sapientia naturalia
corporis! vitia ponuntur. Quicquid infixum et in-

2 genitum est, lenitur arte, non vincitur. Quibusdam
etiam constantissimis in conspectu populi sudor
erumpit, non aliter quam fatigatis et aestuantibus
solet, quibusdam tremunt genua dicturis, quorundam
dentes colliduntur, lingua titubat, labra concurrunt.
Haec nec disciplina nec usus umquam excutit, sed
natura vim suam exercet et illo? vitio sui etiam ro-

3 bustissimos admonet. Inter haec esse et ruborem
scio, qui gravissimis quoque viris subitus adfunditur.
Magis quidem in iuvenibus apparet, quibus et plus
caloris est et tenera frons; nihilominus et veteranos
et senes tangit. Quidam numquam magis, quam
cum erubuerint, timendi sunt, quasi omnem vere-

4 cundiam effuderint. Sulla tunc erat violentissimus,

1 aut animi after corpuris deleted ay Madvig.
2 illo Schweighauser ; illos MSS

60

EPISTLE XI.

XI. ON THE BLUSH OF MODESTY

Your friend and I have had a conversation. He
is a man of ability; his very first words showed
what spirit and understanding he possesses, and what
progress he has already made. He gave me a fore-
taste, and he will not fail to answer thereto. For
he spoke not from forethought, but was suddenly
caught off his guard. When he tried to collect him-
self, he could scarcely banish that hue of modesty,
which is a good sign in a young man; the blush
that spread over his face seemed so to rise from the
depths. And I feel sure that his habit of blushing
will stay with him after he has strengthened his
character, stripped off all his faults, and become wise.
For by no wisdom can natural weaknesses of the
body be removed. That which is implanted and
inborn can be toned down by training, but not over-
come. The steadiest speaker, when before the public,
often breaks into a perspiration, as if he had wearied
or over-heated himself; some tremble in the knees
when they rise to speak; I know of some whose
teeth chatter, whose tongues falter, whose lips quiver.
Training and experience can never shake off this
habit; nature exerts her own power and through
such a weakness makes her presence known even
to the strongest. I know that the blush, too, is a
habit of this sort, spreading suddenly over the faces
of the most dignified men, It is, indeed more
prevalent in youth, because of the warmer blood and
the sensitive countenance; nevertheless, both seasoned
men and aged men are affected by it. Some are
must dangerous when they redden, as if they were
letting all their sense of shame escape. Sulla, when

61

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

cum faciem eius sanguis invaserat. Nihil erat mollius
ore Pompei; numquam non coram pluribus rubuit,
utique in contionibus. Fabianum, cum in senatum
testis esset inductus, erubuisse memini, et hic illum

5 mire pudor decuit. Non accidit hoc ab infirmitate
mentis, sed a novitate rei, quae inexercitatos,
etiamsi non concutit, movet naturali in hoc facilitate
corporis pronos. Nam ut quidam boni sanguinis
sunt, ita quidam incitati et mobilis et cito in os
prodeuntis.

6 MHaec, ut dixi, nulla sapientia abigit; alioquin
haberet rerum naturam sub imperio, si omnia eraderet
vitia. Quaecumque adtribuit condicio nascendi et
corporis temperatura, cum multum se diuque animus
conposuerit, haerebunt. Nihil horum vetari potest,

7 non magis quam accersi. Artifices scaenici, qui
imitantur adfectus, qui metum et trepidationem
exprimunt, qui tristitiam repraesentant, hoc indicio
imitantur verecundiam: deiciunt enim vultum, verba
submittunt, figunt in terram oculos et deprimunt.
Ruborem sibi exprimere non possunt ; nec prohibetur
hic nec adducitur. Nihil adversus haec sapientia
promittit, nihil proficit ; sui iuris sunt, iniussa veniunt,
iniussa discedunt.

8 Iamclausulam epistula poscit. Accipe, et quidem !
utilem ac salutarem, quam te affigere animo volo:
“ Aliquis vir bonus nobis diligendus est ac semper
ante oculos habendus, ut sic tamquam illo spectante

1 et quidem Erasmus ; equidem MSS.

# Epicurus, Frag. 210 Usener.
62

EPISTLE XI.

the blood mantled his cheeks, was in his fiercest
mood. Pompey had the most sensitive cast of
countenance ; he always blushed in the presence of
a gathering, and especially at a public assembly.
Fabianus also, I remember, reddened when he
appeared as a witness before the senate; and his
embarrassment became him to a remarkable degree.
Such a habit is not due to mental weakness, but to
the novelty of a situation; an inexperienced person
is not necessarily confused, but is usually affected,
because he slips into this habit by natural tendency
of the body. Just as certain men are full-blooded,
so others are of a quick and mobile blood, that rushes
to the face at once.

As I remarked, Wisdom can never remove this
habit; for if she could rub out all our faults, she
would be mistress of the universe. Whatever is
assigned to us by the terms of our birth and the
blend in our constitutions, will stick with us, no
matter how hard or how long the soul may have tried
to master itself. And we cannot forbid these feelings
any more than we can summon them. Actors in the
theatre, who imitate the emotions, who portray fear
and nervousness, who depict sorrow, imitate bashful-
ness by hanging their heads, lowering their voices,
and keeping their eyes fixed and rooted upon the
ground. They cannot, however, muster a blush ; for
the blush cannot be prevented or acquired. Wisdom
will not assure us of a remedy, or give us help against
it; it comes or goes unbidden, and is a law unto
itself.

But my letter calls for its closing sentence. Hear
and take to heart this useful and wholesome motto ®:
«“ Cherish some man of high character, and keep him
ever before your eyes, living as if he were watching

63

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

vivamus et omnia tamquam illo vidente faciamus.”
9 Hoc, mi Lucili, Epicurus praecepit. Custodem nobis
et paedagogum dedit, nec inmerito. Magna pars
peccatorum tollitur, si peccaturis testis adsistit. Ali-
quem habeat animus, quem vereatur, cuius auctori-
tate etiam secretum suum sanctius faciat. O felicem
illum, qui non praesens tantum, sed etiam cogitatus
emendat! O felicem, qui sic aliquem vereri potest,
ut ad memoriam quoque eius se conponat atque
ordinet! Qui sic aliquem vereri potest, cito erit
10 verendus. Elige itaque Catonem. Si hic tibi videtur
nimis rigidus, elige remissioris animi virum Laelium.
Elige eum, cuius tibi placuit et vita et oratio et ipse
animum ante se ferens vultus; illum tibi semper
ostende vel custodem vel exemplum. Opus est,
inquam, aliquo, ad quem mores nostri se ipsi exigant ;
nisi ad regulam prava non corriges. VALE.

XII.

Seneca LyvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Quocumque me verti, argumenta senectutis meae
video. Veneram in suburbanum meum et querebar
de inpensis aedificii dilabentis. Ait vilicus mihi non
esse neglegentiae suae vitium, omnia se facere, sed
villam veterem esse. Haec villa inter manus meas
crevit; quid mihi futurum est, si tam putria sunt

# Frag. 210 Usener.
> The figure is taken from the &éurov, the Holy of Holies
inatemple. Cf. Vergil, Aeneid, vi. 10 secreta Sibyllae.

64

EPISTLES XI., XII.

you, and ordering all your actions as if he beheld
them.” Such, my dear Lucilius, is the counsel of
Epicurus “; he has quite properly given us a guardian
and an attendant. We can get rid of most sins, if
we have a witness who stands near us when we are
likely to go wrong. The soul should have someone
whom it can respect,—one by whose authority it may
make even its inner shrine more hallowed.? Happy
is the man who can make others better, not merely
when he is in their company, but even when he is
in their thoughts! And happy also is he who can
so revere a man as to calm and regulate himself by
calling him to mind! One who can so revere another,
will soon be himself worthy of reverence. Choose
therefore a Cato; or, if Cato seems too severe a
model, choose some Laelius, a gentler spirit. Choose
a master whose life, conversation, and soul-expressing
face have satisfied you ; picture him always to your-
self as your protector or your pattern. For we must
indeed have someone according to whom we may
regulate our characters; you can never straighten
that which is crooked unless you use a ruler. Fare-
well.

XII. ON OLD AGE

Wherever I turn, I see evidences of my advancing
years. I visited lately my country-place, and pro-
tested against the money which was spent on the
tumble-down building. My bailiff maintained that
the flaws were not due to his own carelessness; “he
was doing everything possible, but the house was
old.” And this was the house which grew under
my own hands! What has the future in store for

65

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

2 aetatis meae saxa? Iratus illi proximam occasionem
stomachandi arripio. “Apparet,’ inquam, “has
platanos neglegi; nullas habent frondes. Quam
nodosi sunt et retorridi rami, quam tristes et squalidi
trunci! Hoc non accideret, si quis has circum-
foderet, si inrigaret.” Iurat per genium meum
se omnia facere, in nulla re cessare curam suam, sed
illas vetulas esse. Quod intra nos sit, ego illas

3 posueram, ego illarum primum videram folium. Con-
versus ad ianuam “ Quis est iste?” inquam, “iste
decrepitus et merito ad ostium admotus? Foras
enim spectat. Unde istunc nactus es? Quid te
delectavit alienum mortuum tollere?” At ille “Non
cognoscis me?” inquit. “Ego sum Felicio, cui
solebas sigillaria adferre. Ego sum Philositi vilici
filius, deliciolum tuum.”’ “ Perfecte,” inquam, “ iste
delirat. Pupulus etiam delicium meum factus est?
Prorsus potest fieri ; dentes illicum maxime cadunt.”

4 Debeo hoc suburbano meo, quod mihi senectus
mea, quocumqueadverteram, apparuit. Conplectamur
illam et amemus; plena est voluptatis, si illa scias
uti. Gratissima sunt poma, cum fugiunt; pueritiae
maximus in exitu decor est; deditos vino potio
extrema delectat, illa quae mergit, quae ebrietati

5 summammanum inponit. Quod in se iucundissimum
omnis voluptas habet, in finem sui differt. Iucundis-
sima est aetas devexa iam, non tamen praeceps. Et

« A jesting allusion to the Roman funeral; the corpse’s
feet pointed to the door.

© His former owner should have kept him and buried him.

¢ Small figures, generally of terra-cotta, were frequently
given to children as presents at the Saturnalia. Cf. Macro-
bius, i. 11. 49 sigilla . . . pro se atyue suis piaculum.

4 7.¢,, the old slave resembles a child in that he is losing
his teeth (but for the second time).

66

EPISTLE XII.

me. if stones of my own age are already crumbling ?
[ was angry, and I embraced the first opportunity
to vent my spleen in the bailiff’s presence. “It is
clear,’ I cried, “that these plane-trees are neglected ;
they have no leaves. Their branches are so gnarled
and shrivelled ; the boles are so rough and unkempt!
This would not happen, if someone loosened the earth
at their feet, and watered them.” The bailiff swore
by my protecting deity that “ he was doing everything
possible, and never relaxed his efforts, but those trees
were old.” Between you and me, I had planted
those trees myself, I had seen them in their first leaf
Then I turned to the door and asked: “ Who is that
broken-down dotard? You have done well to place
him at the entrance; for he is outward bound.@
Where did you get him? What pleasure did it give
you to take up for burial some other man’s dead ?®”’
But the slave said: “ Don’t you know me, sir? I
am Felicio; you used to bring me little images.¢
My father was Philositus the steward, and I am your
pet slave.” ‘The man is clean crazy,” I remarked.
“‘ Has my pet slave become a little boy again? But
it is quite possible; his teeth are just dropping out.’ @
I owe it to my country-place that my old age
became apparent whithersoever I turned. Let us
cherish and love old age; for it is full of pleasure
if one knows how to use it. Fruits are most welcome
when almost over; youth is most charming at its
close ; the last drink delights the toper,—the glass
which souses him and puts the finishing touch on his
drunkenness. Each pleasure reserves to the end the
greatest delights which it contains. Life is most
delightful when it is on the downward slope, but
has not yet reached the abrupt decline. And I
myself believe that the period which stands, so to
67

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

illam quoque in extrema tegula! stantem iudico
habere suas voluptates. Aut hoc ipsum succedit in
locum voluptatium, nullis egere. Quam dulce est

6 cupiditates fatigasse ac reliquisse! ‘ Molestum est,”
inquis, “ mortem ante oculos habere.”’ Primum ista
tam seni ante oculos debet esse quam iuveni. Non
enim citamur ex censu. Deinde nemo tam senex est,
ut inprobe unum diem speret. Unus autem dies gradus
vitae est.

Tota aetas partibus constat et orbes habet circum-
ductos maiores minoribus. Est aliquis, qui omnis
conplectatur et cingat; hic pertinet a natali ad
diem extremum. Est alter, qui annos adulescentiae
cludit.2, Est qui totam pueritiam ambitu suo ad-
stringit. Est deinde per se annus in se omnia
continens tempora, quorum multiplicatione vita con-
ponitur. Mensisartiore praecingitur circulo. Angu-
stissimum habet dies gyrum, sed et hic ab initio ad

7 exitum venit, ab ortu ad occasum. Ideo: Heraclitus,
cui cognomen fecit orationis obscuritas, “ Unus,” in-
quit, “dies par omni est.” Hoc alius aliter excepit.?
Dixit enim parem esse horis, nec mentitur ; nam si
dies est tempus viginti et quattuor horarum, necesse
est omnes inter se dies pares esse, quia nox habet, quod
dies perdidit. Alius ait parem esse unumdiemomnibus
similitudine ; nihil enim habet longissimi temporis
spatium, quod non et in uno die invenias, lucem et

1 tegula MSS., retained by Hense; regula, ‘‘ horizon-
line,” Summers ; specula, ‘‘ summit,’’ Madvig.

2 cludit C. Brakman ; excludit MSS.

3 excepit MSS. ; cepit Hense.

2 1.6., seniores as contrasted with iuniores.
* 6 oxorevés, ** The Obscure,” Frag. 106 Diels®,

68

EPISTLE XII.

speak, on the edge of the roof, possesses pleasures of
its own. Or else the very fact of our not wanting
pleasures has taken the place of the pleasures them-
selves. How comforting it is to have tired out one’s
appetites, and to have done with them! <“ But,’
you say, “it is a nuisance to be looking death in
the face!” Death, however, should be looked in
the face by young and old alike. We are not
summoned according to our rating on the censor’s
list. Moreover, no one is so old that it would be
improper for him to hope for another day of existence.
And one day, mind you, is a stage on life’s journey.
Our span of life is divided into parts; it consists
of large circles enclosing smaller. One circle embraces
and bounds the rest; it reaches from birth to the
last day of existence. The next circle limits the
period of our young manhood. The third confines
all of childhood in its circumference. Again, there
is, in a class by itself, the year; it contains within
itself all the divisions of time by the multiplication
of which we get the total of life. The month is
bounded by a narrower ring. The smallest circle of
all is the day ; but even a day has its beginning and
its ending, its sunrise and its sunset. Hence Hera-
clitus, whose obscure style gave him his surname,?
remarked: “One day is equal to every day.”
Different persons have interpreted the saying in
different ways. Some hold that days are equal in
number of hours, and this is true; for if by “day”
we mean twenty-four hours’ time, all days must be
equal, inasmuch as the night acquires what the day
loses. But others maintain that one day is equal
to all days through resemblance, because the very
longest space of time possesses no element which
cannot be found in a single day,—namely, light and

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noctem, et in aeternum dies vices plures facit istas,

8 non alias contractior,! alias productior. Itaque sic
ordinandus est dies omnis, tamquam cogat agmen
et consummet atque expleat vitam.

Pacuvius, qui Syriam usu suam fecit, cum vino et
illis funebribus epulis sibi parentaverat, sic in cubi-
culum ferebatur a cena, ut inter plausus exoletorum
hoc ad symphoniam caneretur: BeBiwrar, BeBiwrau.

9 Nullo non se die extulit. Hoc, quod ille ex mala
conscientia faciebat, nos ex bona faciamus et in
somnum ituri laeti hilaresque dicamus :

Vixi et quem dederat cursum fortuna, peregi.

Crastinum si adiecerit deus, laeti recipiamus. Ile
beatissimus est et securus sui possessor, qui crastinum
sine sollicitudine expectat. Quisquis dixit “ vixi,”
cotidie ad lucrum surgit.

10 Sed iam debeo epistulam includere. “Sic,” inquis,
“sine ullo ad me peculio veniet?’’ Noli timere;
aliquid secum fert. Quare aliquid dixi? Multum.
Quid enim hac voce praeclarius, quam illi trado ad
te perferendam? ‘“ Malum est in necessitate vivere ;
sed in necessitate vivere necessitas nulla est.”
Quidni nulla sit? Patent undique ad libertatem

* et in aeternum dies vices plures facit istas non alias con-
tractior Capps ; et in alternas mundi vices plura facit ista non

alias contractior MSS. ; non alia .. . alius contractior etc.
Hense.

@ i.¢e., of light and darkness.

> Usus was the mere enjoyment of a piece of property ;
dominium was the exclusive right to its control. Possession
for one, or two, years conferred ownership. See Leage,
Roman Private Law, pp. 133, 152, and 164. Although
Pacuvius was governor so long that the province seemed
to belong to him, yet he knew he might die any day.

¢ Vergil, Aeneid, iv. 653.

¢ Epicurus, Spriiche, 9 Wotke.

70

EPISTLE XII.

darkness,—and even to eternity day makes these
alternations * more numerous, not different when it
is shorter and different again when it is longer.
Hence, every day ought to be regulated as if it closed
the series, as if it rounded out and completed our
existence.

Pacuvius, who by long occupancy made Syria
his own,’ used to hold a regular burial sacrifice in
his own honour, with wine and the usual funeral
feasting, and then would have himself carried from
the dining-room to his chamber, while eunuchs
applauded and sang in Greek to a musical accom-
paniment: “ He has lived his life, he has lived his
life!’’ Thus Pacuvius had himself carried out to
burial every day. Let us, however, do from a good
motive what he used to do from a debased motive;
let us go to our sleep with joy and gladness; let us
say :

I have lived ; the course which Fortune set for me
Is finished.¢

And if God is pleased to add another day, we should
welcome it with glad hearts. That man is happiest,
and is secure in his own possession of himself, who
can await the morrow without apprehension. When
aman has said: “I have lived!”, every morning he
arises he receives a bonus.

But now I ought to close my letter. ‘ What?”
you say; “shall it come to me without any little
offering ?”’ Be not afraid; it brings something,—
nay, more than something, a great deal. For what
is more noble than the following saying,? of which I
make this letter the bearer: “It is wrong to live
under constraint; but no man is constrained to live
under constraint.”” Of course net. On all sides lie

71

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

viae multae breves, faciles. Agamus deo gratias,
quod nemo in vita teneri potest. Calcare ipsas

11 necessitates licet. |“ Epicurus,’ inquis, “ dixit.
Quid tibi cum alieno?’’ Quod verum est, meum
est. Perseverabo Epicurum tibi ingerere, ut isti,
qui in verba iurant, nec quid dicatur aestimant, sed
a quo, sciant, quae optima sunt, esse communia.
VALE.

XIII.

Stneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Multum tibi esse animi scio. Nam _ etiam
antequam instrueres te praeceptis salutaribus et
dura vincentibus, satis adversus fortunam placebas
tibi, et multo magis, postquam cum illa manum
conseruisti viresque expertus es tuas, quae numquam
certam dare fiduciam sui possunt, nisi cum multae
difficultates hine et illinc apparuerunt, aliquando
vero et propius accesserunt; sic verus ille animus
et in alienum non venturus arbitrium probatur.

2 Haec eius obrussa est: non potest athleta magnos
spiritus ad certamen adferre, qui numquam suggil-
latus est; ille, qui sanguinem suum vidit, cuius

dentes crepuere sub pugno, ille, qui subplantatus
72

EPISTLES XII., XIII.

many short and simple paths to freedom; and let
us thank God that no man can be kept in life. We
may spurn the very constraints that hold us. “ Epi-
curus,’ you reply, “uttered these words; what are
you doing with another’s property?’’ Any truth, I
maintain, is my own property. And I shall continue
to heap quotations from Epicurus upon you, so that
all persons who swear by the words of another, and
put a value upon the speaker and not upon the thing
spoken, may understand that the best ideas are
common property. Farewell.

XIII. ON GROUNDLESS FEARS

I know that you have plenty of spirit; for even
before you began to equip yourself with maxims
which were wholesome and potent to overcome
obstacles, you were taking pride in your contest with
Fortune; and this is all the more true, now that
you have grappled with Fortune and tested your
powers. For our powers cannever inspire in us implicit
faith in ourselves except when many difficulties have
confronted us on this side and on that, and have
occasionally even come to close quarters with us.
It is only in this way that the true spirit can be
tested,—the spirit that will never consent to come
under the jurisdiction of things external to ourselves.
This is the touchstone of such a spirit; no prize-
fighter can go with high spirits into the strife if he
has never been beaten black and blue; the only
contestant who can confidently enter the lists is the
man who has seen his own blood, who has felt his
teeth rattle beneath his opponent’s fist, who has

73

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

adversarium toto tulit corpore nec proiecit animum
proiectus, qui quotiens cecidit, contumacior resurrexit,

3cum magna spe descendit ad pugnam. Ergo, ut
similitudinem istam prosequar, saepe iam fortuna
supra te fuit, nec tamen tradidisti te, sed subsiluisti
et acrior constitisti. Multum enim adicit sibi virtus
lacessita ; tamen si tibi videtur, accipe a me auxilia,
quibus munire te possis.

4 Plura sunt, Lucili, quae nos terrent, quam quae
premunt, et saepius opinione quam re laboramus.
Non loquor tecum Stoica lingua, sed hac submissiore.
Nos enim dicimus omnia ista, quae gemitus mugitus-
que exprimunt, levia esse et contemnenda; omitta-
mus haec magna verba, sed, di boni, vera. Illud
tibi praecipio, ne sis miser ante tempus, cum illa,
quae velut imminentia expavisti, fortasse numquam

5 ventura sint, certe non venerint. Quaedam ergo nos
magis torquent quam debent; quaedam ante tor-
quent quam debent; quaedam torquent, cum omnino
non debeant. Aut augemus dolorem aut fingimus
aut praecipimus.

Primum illud, quia res in controversia est et litem
contestatam habemus, in praesentia differatur. Quod
ego leve dixero, tu gravissimum esse contendes ; scio
alios inter flagella ridere, alios gemere sub colapho.

« Seneca dismisses the topic of ‘‘ exaggerated ills,” be-
cause judgments will differ regarding present troubles ; the
Stoics, for example, would not admit that torture was an
evil atall. Hethen passes on to the topic of ‘‘imaginary ills,”
§§ 6-7, and afterwards to ‘‘ anticipated ills,” §§ 8-11. From
§ 12 on, he deals with both imaginary and anticipated ills.

74

EPISTLE XIII.

been tripped and felt the full force of his adversary’s
charge, who has been downed in body but not in
spirit, one who, as often as he falls, rises again with
greater defiance than ever. So then, to keep up my
figure, Fortune has often in the past got the upper
hand of you, and yet you have not surrendered, but
have leaped up and stood your ground still more
eagerly. For manliness gains much strength by
being challenged; nevertheless, if you approve, allow
me to offer some additional safeguards by which you
may fortify yourself.

There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten
us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often
in imagination than in reality. I am not speaking
with you in the Stoic strain but in my milder style.
For it is our Stoic fashion to speak of all those things,
which provoke cries and groans, as unimportant and
beneath notice ; but you and I must drop such great-
sounding words, although, Heaven knows, they are
true enough. What I advise you to do is, not to be
unhappy before the crisis comes; since it may be
that the dangers before which you paled as if they
were threatening you, will never come upon you;
they certainly have not yetcome. Accordingly, some
things torment us more than they ought; some
torment us before they ought; and some torment
us when they ought not to torment us at all. We
are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or
anticipating, sorrow.

The first of these three faults * may be postponed
for the present, because the subject is under discus-
sion and the case is still in court, so to speak. That
which I should call trifling, you will maintain to be
most serious; for of course I know that some men
laugh while being flogged, and that others wince at

75

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Postea videbimus, utrum ista suis viribus valeant an
inbecillitate nostra.

6 Illud praesta mihi, ut, quotiens circumsteterint,
qui tibi te miserum esse persuadeant, non quid
audias, sed quid sentias, cogites et cum patientia tua
deliberes ac te ipse interroges, qui tua optime nosti:
Quid est, quare isti me conplorent? Quid est, quod
trepident, quod contagium quoque mei timeant, quasi
transilire calamitas possit? Est aliquid istic mali,
an res ista magis infamis est quam mala? Ipse te
interroga: Numquid sine causa crucior et maereo et

7 quod non est malum, facio? “ Quomodo,” inquis,
“intellegam, vana sint an vera, quibus angor?”
Accipe huius rei regulam: aut praesentibus tor-
quemur aut futuris aut utrisque. De praesentibus
facile iudicium est ; si corpus tuum liberum et ! sanum
est, nec ullus ex iniuria dolor est. Videbimus quid

8 futurum sit. Hodie nihil negotii habet. “ At enim
futurum est.’’ Primum dispice, an certa argumenta
sint venturi mali. Plerumque enim suspicionibus
laboramus, et inludit nobis illa, quae conficere bellum
solet, fama, multo autem magis singulos conficit.

Ita est, mi Lucili; cito accedimus opinioni. Non

1 est Madvig ; et MSS.
76 .

EPISTLE XIII.

a box on the ear. We shall consider later whether
these evils derive their power from their own
strength, or from our own weakness.

Do me the favour, when men surround you and
try to talk you into believing that you are unhappy,
to consider not what you hear but what you yourself
feel, and to take counsel with your feelings and
question yourself independently, because you know
your own affairs better than anyone else does. Ask:
“Is there any reason why these persons should con-
dole with me? Why should they be worried or
even fear some infection from me, as if troubles
could be transmitted? Is there any evil involved,
or is it a matter merely of ill report, rather than
an evil?” Put the question voluntarily to yourself:
“Am I tormented without sufficient reason, am I
morose, and do I convert what is not an evil into
what is an evil?”? You may retort with the question :
“ How am I to know whether my sufferings are real
or imaginary?” Here is the rule for such matters:
We are tormented either by things present, or by
things to come, or by both. As to things present,
the decision is easy. Suppose that your person
enjoys freedom and health, and that you do not
suffer from any external injury. As to what may
happen to it in the future, we shall see later on.
To-day there is nothing wrong with it. “But,” you
say, “something will happen to it.” First of all,
consider whether your proofs of future trouble are
sure. For it is more often the case that we are
troubled by our apprehensions, and that we are
mocked by that mocker, rumour, which is wont to
settle wars, but much more often setties individuals.
Yes, my dear Lucilius; we agree too quickly with
what people say. We do not put to the test those

17

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

coarguimus illa, quae nos in metum adducunt, nec
excutimus, sed trepidamus et sic vertimus terga,
quemadmodum illi, quos pulvis motus fuga pecorum
exuit castris, aut quos aliqua fabula sine auctore

9 sparsa conterruit. Nescio quomodo magis vana per-
turbant. Vera enim modum suum habent; quic-
quid ex incerto venit, coniecturae et paventis animi
licentiae traditur. Nulli itaque tam perniciosi, tam
inrevocabiles quam lymphatici metus sunt. Ceteri
enim sine ratione, hi sine mente sunt.

10 Inquiramus itaque in rem diligenter. Verisimile
est aliquid futurum mali; non statim verum est.
Quam multa non expectata venerunt! Quam multa
expectata nusquam conparuerunt! Etiam si futu-
rum est, quid iuvat dolori suo occurrere? Satis cito
dolebis, cum venerit ; interim tibi meliora promitte.

11 Quid facies lucri? Tempus. Multa intervenient,
quibus vicinum periculum vel prope admotum aut
subsistat aut desinat aut in alienum caput transeat.
Incendium ad fugam patuit ; quosdam molliter ruina
deposuit ; aliquando gladius ab ipsa cervice revocatus
est; aliquis carnifici suo superstes fuit. Habet etiam
mala fortuna levitatem. Fortasse erit, fortasse non
erit; interim non est. Meliora propone.

12. Nonnumquam nullis apparentibus signis, quae mali
aliquid praenuntient, animus sibi falsas imagines

fingit; aut verbum aliquod dubiae significationis
78

EPISTLE XIII.

things which cause our fear; we do not examine
into them; we blench and retreat just like soldiers
who are forced to abandon their camp because of a
dust-cloud raised by stampeding cattle, or are thrown
into a panic by the spreading of some unauthentic-
ated rumour. And somehow or other it is the idle
report that disturbs us most. For truth has its own
definite boundaries, but that which arises from un-
certainty is delivered over to guesswork and the
irresponsible license of a frightened mind. That is
why no fear is so ruinous and so uncontrollable as
panic fear. For other fears are groundless, but this
fear is witless.

Let us, then, look carefully into the matter. It
is likely that some troubles will befall us; but it is
not a present fact. How often has the unexpected
happened! How often has the expected never come
to pass! And even though it is ordained to be, what
does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You
will suffer soon enough, when it arrives; so look
forward meanwhile to better things. What shall
you gain by doing this? Time. There will be many
happenings meanwhile which will serve to postpone,
or end, or pass on to another person, the trials which
are near or even in your very presence. A fire has
opened the way to flight. Men have been let down
softly by a catastrophe. Sometimes the sword has
been checked even at the victim’s throat. Men
have survived their own executioners. Even bad
fortune is fickle. Perhaps it will come, perhaps not ;
in the meantime it isnot. So look forward to better
things.

The mind at times fashions for itself false shapes
of evil when there are no signs that point to any
evil; it twists into the worst construction some word

VOL. I D 79

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

detorquet in peius aut maiorem sibi offensam proponit
alicuius quam est, et cogitat non quam iratus ille sit,
sed quantum liceat irato. Nulla autem causa vitae
est, nullus miseriarum modus, si timeatur quantum
potest ; hic prudentia prosit, hic robore animi eviden-
tem quoque metum respue. Si minus, vitio vitium
repelle ; spe metum tempera. Nihil tam certum est
ex his, quae timentur, ut non certius sit et formidata
subsidere et sperata decipere.

13. Ergo spem ac metum examina, et quctiens incerta
erunt omnia, tibi fave; crede quod mavis. Si plures
habet ! sententias metus, nihilominus in hanc partem
potius inclina et perturbare te desine, ac subinde
hoc in animo volve, maiorem partem mortalium,
cum illi nec sit quicquam mali nec pro certo futurum
sit, aestuare ac discurrere. Nemo enim resistit sibi,
cum coepit inpelli, nec timorem suum redigit ad
verum. Nemo dicit: “ Vanus auctor est, vanus haec
aut finxit aut credidit.’”” Damus nos aurae ferendos.?

14 Expavescimus dubia pro certis. Non servamus
modum rerum. Statim in timorem vertit * scrupulus.

Pudet me et triste4 tecum loqui, et tam lenibus
te remediis focillare. Alius dicat: “ Fortasse non

1 habet Madvig ; habes and habebis MSS.

2 aqurae ferendos Buecheler ; referendos MSS.
3 yertit Haase; venit MSS.

4 et triste Capps ; ibi sic MSS.

@ Cf. Solon’s cal we kwrlddovra Aelws Tpaxdy expavet vdov.
80

EPISTLE XIII.

of doubtful meaning; or it fancies some person’s
grudge to be more serious than it really is, consider-
ing not how angry the enemy is, but to what lengths
he may go if he is angry. But life is not worth
living, and there is no limit to our sorrows, if we
indulge our fears to the greatest possible extent; in
this matter, let prudence help you, and contemn fear
with a resolute spirit even when it is in plain sight.
If you cannot do this, counter one weakness with
another, and temper your fear with hope. There
is nothing so certain among these objects of fear
that it is not more certain still that things we dread
sink into nothing and that things we hope for mock
us.

Accordingly, weigh carefully your hopes as well as
your fears, and whenever all the elements are in
doubt, decide in your own favour; believe what you
prefer. And if fear wins a majority of the votes,
incline in the other direction anyhow, and cease to
harass your soul, reflecting continually that most
mortals, even when no troubles are actually at hand
or are certainly to be expected in the future, become
excited and disquieted. No one calls a halt on him-
self, when he begins to be urged ahead ; nor does he
regulate his alarm according to the truth. No one
says: “The author of the story is a fool, and he
who has believed it is a fool, as well as he who
fabricated it.” We let ourselves drift with every
breeze ; we are frightened at uncertainties, just as
if they were certain. We observe no moderation.
The slightest thing turns the scales and throws us
forthwith into a panic.

But I am ashamed either to admonish you sternly
or to try to beguile you with such mild remedies.*
Let another say: “Perhaps the worst will not

81

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA
veniet.” Tu dic: “Quid porro, si veniet? Vide-
bimus uter vincat. Fortasse pro me venit, et mors
ista vitam honestabit.” Cicuta magnum Socratem
fecit.1 Catoni gladium adsertorem libertatis extor-

15 que; magnam partem detraxeris gloriae. Nimium
diu te cohortor, cum tibi admonitione magis quam
exhortatione opus sit. Non in diversum te a natura
tua ducimus; natus es ad ista, quae dicimus. Eo
magis bonum tuum auge et exorna.

16 Sed iam finem epistulae faciam, si illi signum suum
inpressero, id est aliquam magnificam vocem per-
ferendam ad te mandavero. “Inter cetera mala
hoe quoque habet stultitia: semper incipit vivere.”
Considera quid vox ista significet, Lucili virorum
optime, et intelleges, quam foeda sit hominum levitas
cotidie nova vitae fundamenta ponentium, novas spes

17 etiam in exitu inchoantium. Circumspice tecum
singulos; occurrent tibi senes, qui se cum maxime
ad ambitionem, ad peregrinationes, ad negotiandum
parent. Quid est autem turpius quam senex vivere
incipiens? Non adicerem auctorem huic voci, nisi
esset secretior nec inter vulgata Epicuri dicta, quae

mihi et laudare et adoptare permisi. VALe.
1 confecit pLP ; fecit Hense, as if corrupted from effecit.
* Epicurus, Frag. 494 Usener.

82

EPISTLE XIII.

happen.” You yourself must say: “ Well, what if
it does happen? Let us see who wins! Perhaps it
happens for my best interests; it may be that such
a death will shed credit upon my life.’’ Socrates
was ennobled by the hemlock draught. Wrench
from Cato’s hand his sword, the vindicator of liberty,
and you deprive him of the greatest share of his
glory. I am exhorting you far too long, since
you need reminding rather than exhortation. The
path on which | am leading you is not different
from that on which your nature leads you; you
were born to such conduct as I describe. Hence
there is all the more reason why you should increase
and beautify the good that is in you.

But now, to close my letter, I have only to stamp
the usual seal upon it, in other words, to commit
thereto some noble message to be delivered to you:
“ The fool, with all his other faults, has this also,—
he is always getting ready to live.’* Reflect, my
esteemed Lucilius, what this saying means, and you
will see how revolting is the fickleness of men who
lay down every day new foundations of life, and begin
to build up fresh hopes even at the brink of the grave.
Look within your own mind for individual instances ;
you will think of old men who are preparing them-
selves at that very hour for a political career, or for
travel, or for business. And what is baser than
getting ready to live when you are already old? I
should not name the author of this motto, except
that it is somewhat unknown to fame and is not one
of those popular sayings of Epicurus which I have
allowed myself to praise and to appropriate. Fare-

well.

83

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

MV:

Seneca LyciILio svo SALVTEM

1‘ Fateor insitam esse nobis corporis nostri caritatem;
fateor nos huius gerere tutelam. Non nego indul-
gendum illi; serviendumnego. Multis enim serviet,
qui corpori servit, qui pro illo nimium timet, qui ad

2illud omnia refert. Sic gerere nos debemus, non
tamquam propter corpus vivere debeamus, sed tam-
quam non possimus sine corpore. Huius nos nimius
amor timoribus inquietat, sollicitudinibus onerat,
contumeliis obicit. Honestum ei vile est, cui corpus
nimis carum est. Agatur eius diligentissime cura,
ita tamen, ut cum exiget ratio, cum dignitas, cum
fides, mittendum in ignes sit.

3 Nihilominus, quantum possumus, evitemus incom-
moda quoque, non tantum pericula, et in tutum nos
reducamus excogitantes subinde, quibus possint
timenda depelli. Quorum tria, nisi fallor, genera
sunt: timetur inopia, timentur morbi, timentur quae

4 per vim potentioris eveniunt. Ex his omnibus nihil
nos magis concutit, quam quod ex aliena potentia
inpendet. Magno enim strepitu et tumultu venit.
Naturalia mala quae rettuli, inopia atque morbus,
silentio subeunt nec oculis nec auribus quicquam
terroris incutiunt. Ingens alterius mali pompa est.
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EPISTLE XIV.

XIV. ON THE REASONS FOR WITH-
DRAWING FROM THE WORLD

I confess that we all have an inborn affection for
our body; I confess that we are entrusted with its
guardianship. I do not maintain that the body is
not to be indulged at all; but I maintain that we
must not be slaves to it. He will have many masters
who makes his body his master, who is over-fearful
in its behalf, who judges everything according to the
body. We should conduct ourselves not as if we
ought to live for the body, but as if we could not
live without it. Our too great love for it makes us
restless with fears, burdens us with cares, and
exposes us to insults. Virtue is held too cheap by
the man who counts his body too dear. We should
cherish the body with the greatest care; but we
should also be prepared, when reason, self-respect,
and duty demand the sacrifice, to deliver it even to
the flames.

Let us, however, in so far as we can, avoid dis-
comforts as well as dangers, and withdraw to safe
ground, by thinking continually how we may repel
all objects of fear. If I am not mistaken, there are
three main classes of these: we fear want, we fear
sickness, and we fear the troubles which result from
the violence of the stronger. And of all these, that
which shakes us most is the dread which hangs over
us from our neighbour’s ascendancy ; for it is accom-
panied by great outcry and uproar. But the natural
evils which I have mentioned,— want and sickness,
—steal upon us silently with no shock of terror to
the eye ortothe ear. The other kind of evil comes,

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Ferrum circa se et ignes habet et catenas et turbam
5 ferarum, quam in viscera inmittat humana. Cogita
hoc loco carcerem et cruces et eculeos et uncum et
adactum per medium hominem, qui per os emergeret,
stipitem et distracta in diversum actis curribus mem-
bra, illam tunicam alimentis ignium et inlitam et
textam, et quicquid aliud praeter haec commenta
6 saevitia est. Non est itaque mirum, si maximus
huius rei timor est, cuius et varietas magna et appa-
ratus terribilis est. Nam quemadmodum plus agit
tortor, quo plura instrumenta doloris exposuit (specie
enim vincuntur qui patientia restitissent) ; ita ex iis,
quae animos nostros subigunt et domant, plus pro-
ficiunt, quae habent quod ostendant. Illae pestes
non minus graves sunt, famem dico et sitim et prae-
cordiorum subpurationes et febrem viscera ipsa
torrentem. Sed latent, nihil habent quod intentent,
quod praeferant; haec ut magna bella aspectu
apparatuque vicerunt.

7 Demus itaque operam, abstineamus offensis.
Interdum populus est, quem timere debeamus;
interdum si ea civitatis disciplina est, ut plurima per
senatum transigantur, gratiosi in eo viri; interdum
singuli, quibus potestas populi et in populum data
est. Hos omnes amicos habere operosum est, satis

« Cf. Tacitus, Annals, xv. 44, describing the tortures
practised upon the Christians.

86

EPISTLE XIV.

so to speak, in the form of a huge parade. Sur-
rounding it is a retinue of swords and fire and chains
and a mob of beasts to be let loose upon the dis-
embowelled entrails of men. Picture to yourself
under this head the prison, the cross, the rack, the
hook, and the stake which they drive straight
through a man until it protrudes from his throat.
Think of human limbs torn apart by chariots driven
in opposite directions, of the terrible shirt smeared
and interwoven with inflammable materials, and of
all the other contrivances devised by cruelty, in
addition to those which I have mentioned! It is
not surprising, then, if our greatest terror is of such
a fate; for it comes in many shapes and its para-
phernalia are terrifying. For just as the torturer
accomplishes more in proportion to the number of
instruments which he displays,—indeed, the spectacle
overcomes those who would have patiently withstood
the suffering,—similarly, of all the agencies which
coerce and master our minds, the most effective are
those which can make a display. Those other
troubles are of course not less serious; I mean
hunger, thirst, ulcers of the stomach, and fever that
parches our very bowels. They are, however, secret ;
they have no bluster and no heralding; but these,
like huge arrays of war, prevail by virtue of their
display and their equipment.

Let us, therefore, see to it that we abstain from
giving offence. It is sometimes the people that we
ought to fear; or sometimes a body of influential
oligarchs in the Senate, if the method of governing
the State is such that most of the business is done
by that body; and sometimes individuals equipped
with power by the people and against the people.
It is burdensome to keep the friendship of all such

VOL. I D2 87

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

est inimicos non habere. Itaque sapiens numquam
potentium iras provocabit, immo declinabit,) non

8 aliter quam in navigando procellam. Cum peteres
Siciliam, traiecisti fretum. Temerarius gubernator
contempsit austri minas, ille est enim, qui Siculum
pelagus exasperet et in vertices cogat ; non sinistrum
petit litus, sed id, a quo? propior Charybdis maria
convolvit. At ille cautior peritos locorum rogat,
quis aestus sit, quae signa dent nubes; longe ab
illa regione verticibus infami cursum tenet. Idem
facit sapiens ; nocituram potentiam vitat, hoc primum
cavens, ne vitare videatur. Pars enim securitatis et
in hoc est, non ex professo eam petere, quia, quae
quis fugit, damnat.

9 Circumspiciendum ergo nobis est, quomodo a
vulgo tuti esse possimus. Primum nihil idem con-
cupiscamus ; rixa est inter competitores. Deinde
nihil habeamus, quod cum magno emolumento in-
sidiantis eripi possit. Quam minimum sit in corpore
tuo spoliorum. Nemo ad humanum sanguinem
propter ipsum venit, aut admodum pauci. Plures
computant quam oderunt. Nudum latro trans-

10 mittit ; etiam in obsessa via pauperi pax est. Tria
deinde ex praecepto veteri praestanda sunt ut viten-
tur: odium, invidia, contemptus. Quomodo hoc
fiat, sapientia sola monstrabit. Difficile enim tem-

1 declinabit L’b ; nec declinabit pL’.
2 sed id, a quo Hense, Thomas ; sed ita guo MSS.
~@ Scylla was a rock on the Italian side of the Straits.
Charybdis was a whirlpool on the Sicilian side. Servius on
Vergil, Aeneid, iii. 420 defines the dextrum as the shore ‘‘ to

the right of those coming from the Ionian sea.”
> Cf. Juvenal x. 22 cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.

88

EPISTLE XIV.

persons ; it is enough not to make enemies of them.
So the wise man will never provoke the anger of
those in power; nay, he will even turn his course,
precisely as he would turn from a storm if he were
steering a ship. When you travelled to Sicily, you
crossed the Straits. The reckless pilot scorned the
blustering South Wind,—the wind which roughens
the Sicilian Sea and forces it into choppy currents ;
he sought not the shore on the left, but the strand
hard by the place where Charybdis throws the seas
into confusion. Your more careful pilot, however,
questions those who know the locality as to the tides
and the meaning of the clouds; he holds his course
far from that region notorious for its swirling waters.
Our wise man does the same; he shuns a strong
man who may be injurious to him, making a point
of not seeming to avoid him, because an important
part of one’s safety lies in not seeking safety openly ;
for what one avoids, one condemns.

We should therefore look about us, and see how
we may protect ourselves from the mob. And first
of all, we should have no cravings like theirs; for
rivalry results in strife. Again, let us possess
nothing that can be snatched from us to the great
profit of a plotting foe. Let there be as little
booty as possible on your person. No one sets out
to shed the blood of his fellow-men for the sake of
bloodshed,—at any rate very few. More murderers
speculate on their profits than give vent to hatred.
If you are empty-handed, the highwayman passes
you by; even along an infested road, the poor may
travel in peace.o Next, we must follow the old
adage and avoid three things with special care:
hatred, jealousy, and scorn. And wisdom alone can
show you how this may be done. It is hard to

89

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

peramentum est, verendumque, ne in contemptum
nos invidiae} timor transferat ne dum calcare nolu-
mus, videamur posse calcari. Multis timendi attulit
causas timeri posse. Undique nos reducamus; non
minus contemni quam suspici nocet.

11 Ad philosophiam ergo confugiendum est; hae
litterae, non dico apud bonos, sed apud mediocriter
malos, infularum loco sunt. Nam forensis eloquentia
et quaecumque alia populum movet, adversarios
habet; haec quieta et sui negotii contemni non
potest, cui ab omnibus artibus etiam apud pessimos
honorest. Numquam in tantum convalescet nequitia,
numquam sic contra virtutes coniurabitur, ut non
philosophiae nomen venerabile et sacrum maneat.

Ceterum philosophia ipsa tranquille modesteque

12 tractanda est. “Quid ergo?” inquis, “ Videtur tibi
M. Cato modeste philosophari, qui bellum civile
sententia reprimit? Qui furentium principum armis
medius intervenit? Qui aliis Pompeium offenden-

13 tibus aliis Caesarem simul lacessit duos?” Potest
aliquis disputare an illo tempore capessenda fuerit
sapienti res publica. “Quid tibi vis, Marce Cato ?
Iam non agitur de libertate ; olim pessumdata est.
Quaeritur, utrum Caesar an Pompeius possideat rem
publicam ; quid tibi cum ista contentione? Nullae

1 invidiae Muretus ; invidia et MSS.

@ Cf. the proverb necesse est multos timeat quem multi
timent, which is found in Seneca, de Ira, ii. 11. 4 and often
elsewhere.

> Literally, ‘‘ is as good as a (priest’s) fillet.”

90

EPISTLE XIV.

observe a mean; we must be chary of letting the
fear of jealousy lead us into becoming objects of
scorn, lest, when we choose not to stamp others
down, we let them think that they can stamp us
down. ‘The power to inspire fear has caused many
men to be in fear.* Let us withdraw ourselves in
every way; for it is as harmful to be scorned as
to be admired.

One must therefore take refuge in philosophy ;
this pursuit, not only in the eyes of good men, but
also in the eyes of those who are even moderately
bad, is a sort of protecting emblem.’ For speech-
making at the bar, or any other pursuit that claims
the people’s attention, wins enemies for a man; but
philosophy is peaceful and minds her own business.
Men cannot scorn her; she is honoured by every
profession, even the vilest among them. Evil can
never grow so strong, and nobility of character can
never be so plotted against, that the name of philo-
sophy shall cease to be worshipful and sacred.

Philosophy itself, however, should be practised
with calmness and moderation. “ Very well, then,”
you retort, “do you regard the philosophy of Marcus
Cato as moderate? Cato’s voice strove to check a civil
war. Cato parted the swords of maddened chieftains.
When some fell foul of Pompey and others fell foul
of Caesar, Cato defied both parties at once!”’ Never-
theless, one may well question whether, in those
days, a wise man ought to have taken any part in
public affairs, and ask: “ What do you mean, Marcus
Cato? It is not now a question of freedom ; long
since has freedom gone to rack and ruin. The
question is, whether it is Caesar or Pompey who
controls the State. Why, Cato, should you take
sides in that dispute? It is no business of yours ; a

91

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

partes tuae sunt; dominus eligitur. Quid tua, uter!
vincat ? Potest melior vincere, non potest non peior
esse, qui vicerit.” Ultimas partes attigi Catonis.
Sed ne priores quidem anni fuerunt qui sapientem
in illam rapinam rei publicae admitterent; quid
aliud quam vociferatus est Cato et misit irritas voces,
cum modo per populi levatus manus et obrutus
sputis exportandus? extra forum traheretur, modo e
senatu in carcerem duceretur ?

14 ‘Sed postea videbimus, an sapienti opera rei
publicae danda sit *; interim ad hos te Stoicos voco,
qui a re publica exclusi secesserunt ad colendam vitam
et humano generi iura condenda sine ulla potentioris
offensa. Non conturbabit sapiens publicos mores
nec populum in se vitae novitate convertet.

15 “Quid ergo? Utique erit tutus, qui hoc proposi-
tum sequetur?” Promittere tibi hoc non magis
possum quam in homine temperanti bonam valitudi-
nem, et tamen facit temperantia bonam valitudinem.
Perit aliqua navis in portu; sed quid tu accidere in
medio mari credis ? Quanto huic periculum paratius
foret multa agenti molientique, cui ne otium quidem
tutum est? Pereunt aliquando innocentes; quis
negat? Nocentes tamen saepius. Ars ei constat,

16 qui per ornamenta percussus est. Denique consilium

1 tua, uter Lipsius ; tu alter MSS.
2 exportandus Pincianus ; e¢ portandus MSS.
3 an sapienti opera rei publicae danda sit Madvig; an

sapienti ora opera perdenda sint pL; num (an b) sapientiora
opera perdenda ( perpendenda b) sit (sunt b) Pb.

« Cf. Tac. Hist. i. 50 inter duos quorum bello solum id
scires, deteriorem fore qui vicisset.
> See, for example, Letter xxii.

92

EPISTLE XIV.

tyrant is being selected. What does it concern you
who conquers? ‘The better man may win; but the
winner is bound to be the worse man.”’? I have re-
ferred to Cato’s final réle. But even in previous
years the wise man was not permitted to intervene
in such plundering of the state; for what could
Cato do but raise his voice and utter unavailing
words? At one time he was “hustled” by the
mob and spat upon and forcibly removed from the
forum and marked for exile; at another, he was
taken straight to prison from the senate-chamber.

However, we shall consider later ® whether the
wise man ought to give his attention to politics ;
meanwhile, I beg you to consider those Stoics who,
shut out from public life, have withdrawn into
privacy for the purpose of improving men’s existence
and framing laws for the human race without in-
curring the displeasure of those in power. The wise
man will not upset the customs of the people, nor
will he invite the attention of the populace by any
novel ways of living.

«“ What then? Can one who follows out this
plan be safe in any case?”’ I cannot guarantee you
this any more than I can guarantee good health in
the case of a man who observes moderation ; although,
as a matter of fact, good health results from such
moderation. Sometimes a vessel perishes in harbour ;
but what do you think happens on the open sea?
And how much more beset with danger that man
would be, who even in his leisure is not secure, if he
were busily working at many things! Innocent
persons sometimes perish ; who would deny that ?
But the guilty perish more frequently. A soldier's
skill is not at fault if he receives the death-blow
through his armour. And finally, the wise man

93

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

rerum omnium sapiens, non exitum spectat. Initia
in potestate nostra sunt; de eventu fortuna iudicat,
cui de me sententiam non do. “ At aliquid vexationis
adferet, aliquid adversi.’”” Non damnat? latro, cum
occidit.

17 Nune ad cotidianam stipem manum _ porrigis.
Aurea te stipe implebo, et quia facta est auri mentio,
accipe quemadmodum usus fructusque eius tibi esse
gratior possit. “Is maxime divitiis fruitur, qui
minime divitiis indiget.” “Ede,” inquis, “auctorem.”
Ut scias quam benigni simus, propositum est aliena
laudare ; Epicuri est aut Metrodori aut alicuius ex

18 illa officina. Et quid interest quis dixerit ? Omnibus
dixit. Qui eget divitiis, timet pro illis. Nemo autem
sollicito bono fruitur; adicere illis aliquid studet.
Dum de incremento cogitat, oblitus est usus. Rationes
accipit, forum conterit, kalendarium versat; fit ex
domino procurator. VALE.

XV

Seneca LyvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Mos antiquis fuit usque ad meam servatus aetatem,
primis epistulae verbis adicere : “Si vales bene est,
ego valeo.” Recte nos dicimus: “Si philosopharis,

1 damnat Gronovius; damnatur MSS. ; dominatur
Schweighauser. Haase, followed by Hense, indicates a
lacuna after occidit.

@ Epicurus, Ep. iii. p. 63. 19 Usener.
’ Named kalendarium because interest was reckoned
according to the Kalends of each month.

94

EPISTLES XIV., XV.

regards the reason for all his actions, but not the
results. The beginning is in our own power;
fortune decides the issue, but I do not allow her to
pass sentence upon myself. You may say: “ But
she can inflict a measure of suffering and of trouble.”
The highwayman does not pass sentence when he
slays.

Now you are stretching forth your hand for the
daily gift. Golden indeed will be the gift with
which | shall load you ; and, inasmuch as we have
mentioned gold, let me tell you how its use and
enjoyment may bring you greater pleasure. “He
who needs riches least, enjoys riches most.” *
«“ Author’s name, please!” you say. Now, to show
you how generous I am, it is my intent to praise
the dicta of other schools. The phrase belongs
to Epicurus, or Metrodorus, or some one of that
particular thinking-shop. But what difference does
it make who spoke the words? They were uttered
for the world. He who craves riches feels fear on
their account. No man, however, enjoys a blessing
that brings anxiety; he is always trying to add a
little more. While he puzzles over increasing his
wealth, he forgets how to use it. He collects his
accounts, he wears out the pavement in the forum,
he turns over his ledger,?—in short, he ceases to be
master and becomes a steward. Farewell.

XV. ON BRAWN AND BRAINS

The old Romans had a custom which survived even
into my lifetime. They would add to the opening
words of a letter: “If you are well, it is well; I
also um well.” Persons like ourselves would do

95

bo

4

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

bene est.” Valere autem hoc demum est. Sine hoe
aeger est animus. Corpus quoque, etiam si magnas
habet vires, non aliter quam furiosi aut phrenetici
validum est. Ergo hance praecipue valitudinem cura,
deinde et illam secundam, quae non magno tibi con-
stabit, si volueris bene valere. Stulta est enim, mi
Lucili, et minime conveniens litterato viro occupatio
exercendi lacertos et dilatandi cervicem ac _ latera
firmandi; cum tibi feliciter sagina cesserit et tori
creverint, nec vires umquam opimi bovis nec pondus
aequabis. Adice nunc, quod maiore corporis sarcina
animus eliditur et minus agilis est. Itaque quantum
potes, circumscribe corpus tuum et animo locum laxa.
Multa secuntur incommoda huic deditos curae;
primum exercitationes, quarum labor spiritum ex-
haurit et inhabilem intentioni ac studiis acrioribus
reddit. Deinde copia ciborum subtilitas inpeditur.
Accedunt pessimae notae mancipia in magisterium
recepta, homines inter oleum et vinum occupati,
quibus ad votum dies actus est, si bene desudaverunt,
si in locum eius, quod effuxit, multum potionis altius
ieiunio! iturae regesserunt. Bibere et sudare vita
cardiaci est. :

Sunt exercitationes et faciles et breves, quae corpus
et sine mora lassent et tempori parcant, cuius prae-
cipua ratio habenda est: cursus et cum aliquo

1 geiunio Madvig ; in tetuno pPb; in ieiunio LI.

@ i.e., the prize-ring ; the contestants were rubbed with
oil before the fight began.

’ Cardiacus meant, according to Pliny, VV. 7. xxiii. 1. 24, a
sort of dyspepsia accompanied by fever and perspiration.
Compare the man in Juvenal v. 32, who will not send a spoon-
ful of wine to a friend ill of this complaint.

96

EPISTLE XV.

well to say: “If you are studying philosophy, it is
well.”’ For this is just what “ being well” means.
Without philosophy the mind is sickly, and the
body, too, though it may be very powerful, is strong
only as that of a madman or a lunatic is strong. This,
then, is the sort of health you should primarily cultiv-
ate; the other kind of health comes second, and will
involve little effort, if you wish to be well physically.
It is indeed foolish, my dear Lucilius, and very un-
suitable for a cultivated man, to work hard over
developing the muscles and broadening the shoulders
and strengthening the lungs. For although your
heavy feeding produce good results and your sinews
grow solid, you can never be a match, either in
strength or in weight, for a first-class bull. Besides,
by overloading the body with food you strangle the
soul and render it less active. Accordingly, limit
the flesh as much as possible, and allow free play to
the spirit. Many inconveniences beset those who
devote themselves to such pursuits. In the first
place, they have their exercises, at which they must
work and waste their life-force and render it less fit
to bear a strain or the severer studies. Second,
their keen edge is dulled by heavy eating. Besides,
they must take orders from slaves of the vilest
stamp,—men who alternate between the oil-flask *
and the flagon, whose day passes satisfactorily if
they have got up a good perspiration and quaffed, to
make good what they have lost in sweat, huge
draughts of liquor which will sink deeper because of
phen fasting. Drinking and sweating,—it’s the life
of a dyspeptic !?

Now there are short and simple exercises which tire
the body rapidly, and so save our time; and time is
something of which we ought to keep strict account.

97

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

pondere manus motae et saltus vel ille, qui corpus in
altum levat, vel ille, qui in longum mittit, vel ille,
ut ita dicam, saliaris! aut, ut contumeliosius dicam,
fullonius; quoius? libet ex his elige usum rudem,

5 facilem. Quicquid facies, cito redi a corpore ad
animum. Illum noctibus ac diebus exerce; labore
modico alitur ille. Hance exercitationem non frigus,
non aestus inpediet, ne senectus quidem. Id bonum

6 cura, quod vetustate fit melius. Neque ego te iubeo
semper inminere libro aut pugillaribus; dandum est
aliquod intervallum animo, ita tamen ut non resol-
vatur, sed remittatur. Gestatio et corpus concutit
et studio non officit; possis legere, possis dictare,
possis loqui, possis audire, quorum nihil ne ambulatio
quidem vetat fieri.

7 Nec tu intentionem vocis contempseris, quam veto
te per gradus et certos modos extollere, deinde de-
primere. Quid si velis deinde quemadmodum am-
bules discere? Admitte istos, quos nova artificia
docuit fames ; erit qui gradus tuos temperet et buccas
edentis observet et in tantum procedat, in quantum
audaciam eius patientia et credulitate? produxeris.
Quid ergo? A clamore protinus et a summa con-
tentione vox tua incipiet? Usque eo naturale est
paulatim incitari, ut litigantes quoque a sermone in-
cipiunt,* ad vociferationem transeunt.? Nemo statim

1 saliaris Madvig ; salutaris pLb ; saltaris P.

2 guoius Buecheler ; quos God) libet MSS.

8 natientia et credulitate Lipsius; patientiae credulitate
(crudelitate) MSS.

4 incipiunt Capps ; incipiant MSS.

5 transeunt L); transeant other MSS., Hense.

@ Named from the Salii, or leaping priests of Mars.
> The fuller, or washerman, cleansed the clothes by
leaping and stamping upon them in the tub.

98

EPISTLE XV.

These exercises are running, brandishing weights, and
jumping,—high-jumping or broad-jumping, or the
kind which I may call “the Priest’s dance,” % or, in
slighting terms, “the clothes-cleaner’s jump.”® Select
for practice any one of these, and you will find it plain
and easy. But whatever you do, come back soon
from body to mind. The mind must be exercised
both day and night, for it is nourished by moderate
labour; and this form of exercise need not be
hampered by cold or hot weather, or even by old age.
Cultivate that good which improves with the years.
Of course I do not command you to be always bend-
ing over your books and your writing materials; the
mind must: have a change,—but a change of such
a kind that it is not unnerved, but merely unbent.
Riding in a litter shakes up the body, and does not
interfere with study ; one may read, dictate, converse,
or listen to another; nor does walking prevent any
of these things.

You need not scorn voice-culture; but I forbid
you to practise raising and lowering your voice by
scales and specific intonations. What if you should
next propose to take lessons in walking! If you
consult the sort of person whom starvation has taught
new tricks, you will have someone to regulate your
steps, watch every mouthful as you eat, and go to
such lengths as you yourself, by enduring him and
believing in him, have encouraged his effrontery to
go. “What, then?’’ you will ask; “is my voice to
begin at the outset with shouting and straining the
lungs to the utmost?” No; the natural thing is
that it be aroused to such a pitch by easy stages,
just as persons who are wrangling begin with ordinary
conversational tones and then pass to shouting at
the top of their lungs. No speaker cries “ Help me,

99

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

& Quiritium fidem inplorat. Ergo utcumque tibi im-
petus animi suaserit, modo vehementius fac! con-
vicium, modo lentius, prout vox quoque te hortabitur,
in id Jatus. Modesta, cum recipies illam revocaris-
que, descendat, non decidat; media oris via abeat ?
nec indocto et rustico more desaeviat. Non enim
id agimus, ut exerceatur vox, sed ut exerceat.

9 Detraxi tibi non pusillum negotii; una mercedula
et unum Graecum ad haec beneficia accedet. Ecce
insigne praeceptum: “ Stulta vita ingrata est et tre-
pida; tota in futurum fertur.” “Quis hoc,” inquis,
“dicit?’”’ Idem qui supra. Quam tu nunc vitam
dici existimas stultam? Babae et Isionis? Non ita
est; nostra dicitur, quos caeca cupiditas in nocitura,
certe numquam satiatura praecipitat, quibus si quid
satis esse posset, fuisset, qui non cogitamus, quam
iucundum sit nihil poscere, quam magnificum sit

10 plenum esse nec ex fortuna pendere. Subinde itaque,
Lucili, quam multa sis consecutus recordare. Cum
aspexeris, quot te antecedant, cogita, quot sequantur.
Si vis gratus esse adversus deos et adversus vitam
tuam, cogita, quam multos antecesseris. Quid tibi
cum ceteris? Te ipse antecessisti.

1 fac vicinis MSS. ; Hense condemns vicinis.
2 media oris via abeat Madvig and Buecheler ; mediatoris
sui habeat L'P.

@ 4.e., Epicurus, Frag. 491 Usener.
> Court fools of the period.

100

EPISTLE XV.

citizens !’’ at the outset of his speech. Therefore,
whenever your spirit’s impulse prompts you, raise a
hubbub, now in louder now in milder tones, according
as your voice, as well as your spirit, shall suggest
to you, when you are moved to such a performance.
Then let your voice, when you rein it in and call it
back to earth, come down gently, not collapse ; it
should trail off in tones half way between high and
low, and should not abruptly drop from its raving
in the uncouth manner of countrymen. For our
purpose is, not to give the voice exercise, but to
make it give us exercise.

You see, I have relieved you of no slight bother ;
and I shall throw in a little complementary present, —
it is Greek, too. Here is the proverb; it is an excel-
lent one: “The fool’s life is empty of gratitude and
full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the
future.” “Who uttered these words?’ you say.
The same writer whom I mentioned before.* And
what sort of life do you think is meant by the fool’s
life? That of Baba and Isio®? No; he means our
own, for we are plunged by our blind desires into
ventures which will harm us, but certainly will never
satisfy us; for if we could be satisfied with anything,
we should have been satisfied long ago; nor do we
reflect how pleasant it is to demand nothing, how
noble it is to be contented and not to be dependent
upon Fortune. Therefore continually remind yourself,
Lucilius, how many ambitions you have attained.
When you see many ahead of you, think how many
are behind! If you would thank the gods, and be
grateful for your past life, you should contemplate
how many men you have outstripped. But what
have you to do with the others? You have out-
stripped yourself.

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

11. Finem constitue, quem transire ne velis quidem,' si
possis; discedant aliquando ista insidiosa bona et
sperantibus meliora quam adsecutis. Si quid in illis
esset solidi, aliquando et inplerent; nunc haurien-
tium sitim concitant. Mittantur?speciosi apparatus.
Et quod futuri temporis incerta sors volvit, quare
potius a fortuna inpetrem, ut det, quam a me, ne
petam? Quare autem petam? Oblitus fragilitatis
humanae congeram? in quid laborem? Ecce hic
dies ultimus est. Ut non sit; prope ab ultimo est.
VALE.

XVI.

Seneca Lycitto svo SALVTEM

1 ~ Liquere hoc tibi, Lucili, scio, neminem posse
beate vivere, ne tolerabiliter quidem sine sapientiae
studio et beatam vitam perfecta sapientia effici,
ceterum tolerabilem etiam inchoata. Sed hoc, quod
liquet, firmandum et altius cotidiana meditatione
figendum est; plus operis est in eo, ut proposita
custodias quam ut honestaproponas. Perseverandum
est et adsiduo studio robur addendum, donec bona

2 mens sit quod bona voluntas est. Itaque tibi apud
me pluribus verbis aut adfirmatione iam? nil opus ;

1 ne possis quidem si velis MSS.; order corrected by Gertz.
2 mittantur Madvig ; imitantur MSS.

3 adfirmatione iam Madvig ; adfirmatis nec tam (multum

L) longis MSS.
102

EPISTLES XV., XVI.

Fix a limit which you will not even desire to
pass, should you have the power. At last, then,
away with all these treacherous goods! They look
better to those who hope for them than to those who
have attained them. If there were anything sub-
stantial in them, they would sooner or later satisfy
you; as it is, they merely rouse the drinkers’ thirst.
Away with fripperies which only serve for show!
As to what the future’s uncertain lot has in store,
why should I demand of Fortune that she give,
rather than demand of myself that I should not
crave? And whyshouldI crave? Shall I heap up my
winnings, and forget that man’s lot is unsubstantial ?
For what end should I toil? Lo, to-day is the last ;
if not, it is near the last. Farewell.

XVI. ON PHILOSOPHY, THE GUIDE
OF LIFE

It is clear to you, I am sure, Lucilius, that no man
can live a happy life, or even a supportable life, with-
out the study of wisdom; you know also that a
happy life is reached when our wisdom is brought
to completion, but that life is at least endurable
even when our wisdom is only begun. This idea,
however, clear though it is, must be strengthened
and implanted more deeply by daily reflection ; it is
more important for you to keep the resolutions you
have already made than to go on and make noble
ones. You must persevere, must develop new
strength by continuous study, until that which is
only a good inclination becomes a good settled
purpose. Hence you no longer need to come to me
with much talk and protestations; I know that you

103

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

intellego multum te profecisse. Quae scribis, unde
veniant, scio; non sunt ficta nec colorata. Dicam
tamen quid sentiam: iam de te spem habeo, nondum
fiduciam. Tu quoque idem facias volo; non est,
quod tibi cito et facile credas. Excute te et varie
scrutare et observa ; illud ante omnia vide, utrum in

3 philosophia an in ipsa vita profeceris. Non est
philosophia populare artificium nec _ ostentationi
paratum. Non in verbis, sed in rebus est. Nec in
hoc adhibetur, ut cum aliqua oblectatione consumatur
dies, ut dematur otio nausia. Animum format et
fabricat, vitam disponit, actiones regit, agenda et
omittenda demonstrat, sedet ad gubernaculum et
per ancipitia fluctuantium derigit cursum. Sine hac
nemo intrepide potest vivere, nemo secure. In-
numerabilia accidunt singulis horis, quae consilium
exigant, quod ab hac petendum est.

4 Dicet aliquis: “Quid mihi prodest philosophia, si
fatum est? Quid prodest, si deus rector est? Quid
prodest, si casus imperat? Nam et mutari certa non
possunt et nihil praeparari potest adversus incerta ;
sed aut consilium meum occupavit deus decrevitque
quid facerem, aut consilio meo nihil fortuna permittit.”’

5 Quicquid est ex his, Lucili, vel si omnia haec sunt,

philosophandum est: sive nos inexorabili lege fata

@ i.e., have merely advanced in years.
104

EPISTLE XVI.

have made great progress. I understand the feelings
which prompt your words; they are not feigned or
specious words. Nevertheless I shall tell you what
I think,—that at present I have hopes for you, but
not yet perfect trust. And I wish that you would
adopt the same attitude towards yourself; there is no
reason why you should put confidence in yourself too
quickly and readily. Examine yourself; scrutinize
and observe yourself in divers ways; but mark,
before all else, whether it is in philosophy or
merely in life itself* that you have made progress.
Philosophy is no trick to catch the public; it is not
devised for show. It is a matter, not of words, but
of facts. It is not pursued in order that the day
may yield some amusement before it is spent, or
that our leisure may be relieved of a tedium that
irks us. It moulds and constructs the soul; it
orders our life, guides our conduct, shows us what
we should do and what we should leave undone; it
sits at the helm and directs our course as we waver
amid uncertainties. Without it, no one can live
fearlessly or in peace of mind. Countless things
that happen every hour call for advice; and such
advice is to be sought in philosophy.

Perhaps someone will say: “ How can philosophy
help me, if Fate exists? Of what avail is philosophy,
if God rules the universe? Of what avail is it, if
Chance governs everything? For not only is it im-
possible to change things that are determined, but
it is also impossible to plan beforehand against what
is undetermined; either God has forestalled my
plans, and decided what I am to do, or else Fortune
gives no free play to my plans.” Whether the truth,
Lucilius, lies in one or in all of these views, we must
be philosophers; whether Fate binds us down by an

105

or)

7

8

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

constringunt, sive arbiter deus universi cuncta dis-
posuit, sive casus res humanas sine ordine inpellit
et iactat, philosophia nos tueri debet. Haec ad-
hortabitur, ut deo libenter pareamus, ut fortunae
contumaciter; haec docebit, ut deum sequaris, feras
casum., Sed non est nunc in hance disputationem
transeundum, quid sit iuris nostri, si providentia in
imperio est, aut si fatorum series inligatos trahit,
aut si repentina ac subita dominantur; illo nune
revertor, ut te moneam et exhorter, ne patiaris
inpetum animi tui delabi et refrigescere. Contine
illum et constitue, ut habitus animi fiat, quod est
inpetus.

Iam ab initio, si te bene novi, circumspicies, quid
haec epistula munusculi attulerit. Excute illam,
et invenies. Non est quod mireris animum meum ;
adhuc de alieno liberalis sum. Quare autem alienum
dixi? Quicquid bene dictum est ab ullo, meum est.
Istue quoque ab Epicuro dictum est: “Si ad natu-
ram vives, numquam eris pauper; si ad opiniones,
numquam eris dives.” Exiguum natura desiderat,
opinio inmensum. Congeratur in te quicquid multi
locupletes possederant. Ultra privatum pecuniae
modum fortuna te provehat, auro tegat, purpura
vestiat, eo deliciarum opumque perducat, ut terram
marmoribus abscondas, non tantum habere tibi liceat,
sed calcare divitias. Accedant statuae et picturae

¢ Frag. 201 Usener.
106

EPISTLE XVI.

inexorable law, or whether God as arbiter of the
universe has arranged everything, or whether Chance
drives and tosses human affairs without method,
philosophy ought to be our defence. She will en-
courage us to obey God cheerfully, but Fortune
defiantly; she will teach us to follow God and
endure Chance. But it is not my purpose now to be
led into a discussion as to what is within our own
control,—if foreknowledge is supreme, or if a chain
of fated events drags us along in its clutches, or if
the sudden and the unexpected play the tyrant over
us; I return now to my warning and my exhortation,
that you should not allow the impulse of your spirit
to weaken and grow cold. Hold fast to it and
establish it firmly, in order that what is now impulse
may become a habit of the mind.

If I know you well, you have already been trying
to find out, from the very beginning of my letter,
what little contribution it brings to you. Sift the
letter, and you will find it. You need not wonder at
any genius of mine; for as yet I am lavish only with
other men’s property.—But why did I say “ other
men’? Whatever is well said by anyone is mine.—
This also is a saying of Epicurus*: “If you live
according to nature, you will never be poor; if you
live according to opinion, you will never be rich.”
Nature’s wants are slight; the demands of opinion
are boundless. Suppose that the property of many
millionaires is heaped up in your possession. Assume
that fortune carries you far beyond the limits of a
private income, decks you with gold, clothes you in
purple, and brings you to such a degree of luxury
and wealth that you can bury the earth under your
marble floors; that you may not only possess, but
tread upon, riches. Add statues, paintings, and

107

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

et quicquid ars ulla luxuriae elaboravit; maiora
cupere ab his disces.

9 Naturalia desideria finita sunt; ex falsa opinione
nascentia ubi desinant, non habent. Nullus enim
terminus falso est. Viam eunti aliquid extremum
est; error inmensus est. Retrahe ergo te a vanis, et
cum voles scire, quod petes, utrum naturalem habeat
an caecam cupiditatem, considera, num possit alicubi
consistere. Si longe progresso semper aliquid longius
restat, scito id naturale non esse. VALE,

XVIL

Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 Proice omnia ista, si sapis, immo ut sapias, et ad
bonam mentem magno cursu ac totis viribus tende.
Si quid est, quo teneris, aut expedi aut incide.
“ Moratur,’ inquis, “me res familiaris; sic illam dis-
ponere volo, ut sufficere nihil agenti possit, ne aut

2 paupertas mihi oneri sit aut ego alicui.””’ Cum hoc
dicis, non videris vim ac potentiam eius, de quo
cogitas, boni nosse. Et summam quidem rei per-
vides, quantum philosophia prosit, partes autem non-
dum satis subtiliter dispicis, necdum scis, quantum
ubique nos adiuvet, quemadmodum et in maximis,

# Perhaps from the Hortensius; see Miiller, Frag. 98,
p. 326.

108

EPISTLES XVI., XVII.

whatever any art has devised for the satisfaction of
luxury; you will only learn from such things to
crave still greater.

Natural desires are limited; but those which
spring from false opinion can have no stopping-point.
The false has no limits. When you are travelling
on a road, there must be an end; but when astray,
your wanderings are limitless. Recall your steps,
therefore, from idle things, and when you would
know whether that which you seek is based upon a
natural or upon a misleading desire, consider whether
it can stop at any definite point. If you find, after
having travelled far, that there is a more distant
goal always in view, you may be sure that this con-
dition is contrary to nature. Farewell.

XVII. ON PHILOSOPHY AND RICHES

Cast away everything of that sort, if you are wise ;
nay, rather that you may be wise; strive toward
a sound mind at top speed and with your whole
strength. If any bond holds you back, untie it, or
sever it. “But,” you say, “my estate delays me; I
wish to make such disposition of it that it may
suffice for me when I have nothing to do, lest either
poverty be a burden to me, or I myself a burden to
others.” You do not seem, when you say this, to
know the strength and power of that good which you
are considering. You do indeed grasp the all-
important thing, the great benefit which philosophy
confers, but you do not yet discern accurately its
various functions, nor do you yet know how great is
the help we receive from philosophy in everything,
everywhere,—how, (to use Cicero’s language,*) it

109

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ut Ciceronis utar verbo, opituletur et in minima
descendat. Mihi crede, advoca illam in consilium ;
3 suadebit tibi, ne ad calculos sedeas. Nempe hoc
quaeris et hoc ista dilatione vis consequi, ne tibi
paupertas timenda sit; quid si adpetenda est? Multis
ad philosophandum obstitere divitiae ; paupertas ex-
pedita est, secura est. Cum classicum cecinit, scit
non se peti; cum aqua conclamata! est, quomodo
exeat, non quid efferat, quaerit ; si? navigandum est,
non strepitat® portus nec unius comitatu inquieta
sunt litora. Non circumstat illum turba servorum,
ad quos pascendos transmarinarum regionum est op-
4 tanda fertilitas. Facile est pascere paucos ventres et
bene institutos et nihil aliud desiderantes quam inpleri.
Parvo fames constat, magno fastidium. Paupertas
contenta est desideriis instantibus satis facere.
Quid est ergo, quare hance recuses contubernalem,
§ cuius mores sanus dives imitatur? si vis vacare animo,
aut pauper sis oportet aut pauperi similis. Non potest
studium salutare fieri sine frugalitatis cura; frugalitas
autem paupertas voluntaria est. Tolle itaque istas
excusationes: “Nondum habeo, quantum satis est;
si ad illam summam pervenero, tunc me totum philo-
sophiae dabo.”’ Atqui nihil prius quam hoc parandum
est, quod tu differs et post cetera paras; ab hoc
incipiendum est. “ Parare,” inquis, “unde vivam
1 aqua conclamata Gertz and Buecheler ; aliqua conclamata
“ed (aut) si MSS. ; wt del. Hense.
3 strepitat Hense; strepit at p; strepunt LPb.
« Literally, ‘‘ Water!”
110

EPISTLE XVII.

not only succours us in the greatest matters but also
descends to the smallest. Take my advice; call
wisdom into consultation; she will advise you not
to sit for ever at your ledger. Doubtless, your
object, what you wish to attain by such postpone-
ment of your studies, is that poverty may not
have to be feared by you. But what if it is some-
thing to be desired? Riches have shut off many a
man from the attainment of wisdom ; poverty is un-
burdened and free from care. When the trumpet
sounds, the poor man knows that he is not being
attacked ; when there is a cry of “ Fire,” * he only
seeks a way of escape, and does not ask what he can
save; if the poor man must go to sea, the harbour
does not resound, nor do the wharves bustle with
the retinue of one individual. No throng of slaves
surrounds the poor man,—slaves for whose mouths
the master must covet the fertile crops of regions
beyond the sea. It is easy to fill a few stomachs,
when they are well trained and crave nothing else
but to be filled. Hunger costs but little ; squeamish-
ness costs much. Poverty is contented with fulfilling
pressing needs.

Why, then, should you reject Philosophy as a
comrade? Even the rich man copies her ways when
he is in his senses. If you wish to have leisure for
your mind, either be a poor man, or resemble a poor
man. Study cannot be helpful unless you take
pains to live simply; and living simply is voluntary
poverty. Away, then, with all excuses like: “I have
not yet enough; when I have gained the desired
amount, then I shall devote myself wholly to philo-
sophy.”” And yet this ideal, which you are putting
off and placing second to other interests, should be
secured first of all; you should begin with it. You

VOL. I E 111

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

volo.” Simul et para et! disce ; si quid te vetat bene

vivere, bene mori non vetat. Non est quod nos

fr)

paupertas a philosophia revocet, ne egestas quidem.
Toleranda est enim ad hoc properantibus vel fames.
Quam toleravere quidam in obsidionibus, et quod
aliud erat illis patientiae praemium quam in arbitrium
non cadere victoris? Quanto hic? maius est quod pro-
mittitur: perpetua libertas, nullius nec hominis nec
dei timor. Et quidem vel esurienti ad ista veniendum
7 est. Perpessi sunt exercitus inopiam omnium rerum,
vixerunt herbarum radicibus et dictu foedis tulerunt
famem. Haec omnia passi sunt pro regno, quo magis
mireris, alieno. Dubitabit aliquis ferre paupertatem,
ut animum furoribus liberet ?
Non est ergo prius adquirendum ; licet ad_philo-
g sophiam etiam sine viatico pervenire. Ita est. Cum
omnia habueris, tunc habere et sapientiam voles?
Haec erit ultimum vitae instrumentum et, ut ita
dicam, additamentum? Tu vero, sive aliquid habes,
iam philosophare,—unde enim scis, an iam _ nimis
habeas ?—sive nihil, hoc prius quaere quam quic-
g quam. “At necessaria deerunt.” Primum deesse

non poterunt, quia natura minimum petit, naturae

1 para et Madvig ; parare MSS. ; et te parare Haase,
2 hic Madvig ; hoc MSS.

112

EPISTLE XVII.

retort: “I wish to acquire something to live on.”
Yes, but learn while you are acquiring it; for if any-
thing forbids you to live nobly, nothing forbids you to
die nobly. There is no reason why poverty should
call us away from philosophy,—no, nor even actual
want. For when hastening after wisdom, we must
endure even hunger. Men have endured hunger
when their towns were besieged, and what other
reward for their endurance did they obtain than
that they did not fall under the conqueror’s power ?
How much greater is the promise of the prize
of everlasting liberty, and the assurance that we
need fear neither God nor man! Even though
we starve, we must reach that goal. Armies have
endured all manner of want, have lived on roots,
and have resisted hunger by means of food too re-
volting to mention. All this they have suffered to
gain a kingdom, and,—what is more marvellous,—
to gain a kingdom that will be another’s. Will any
man hesitate to endure poverty, in order that he
may free his mind from madness?

Therefore one should not seek to lay up riches
first; one may attain to philosophy, however, even
without money for the journey. It is indeed so.
After you have come to possess all other things,
shall you then wish to possess wisdom also? Is
philosophy to be the last requisite in life,—a sort of
supplement? Nay, your plan should be this: be a
philosopher now, whether you have anything or not,
—for if you have anything, how do you know that
you have not too much already ?—but if you have
nothing, seek understanding first, before anything
else. “But,” you say, “I shall lack the necessities
of life.” In the first place, you cannot lack them;
because nature demands but little, and the wise man

113

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

autem se sapiens accommodat. Sed si necessitates
ultimae inciderunt, iamdudum exibit e vita et
molestus sibi esse desinet. Si vero exiguum erit et
angustum, quo possit vita produci, id boni consulet
nec ultra necessaria sollicitus aut anxius ventri et
scapulis suum reddet et occupationes divitum con-
cursationesque ad divitias euntium securus laetusque

10 ridebit ac dicet: “Quid in longum ipse te differs?
Expectabisne fenoris quaestum aut ex merce con-
pendium aut tabulas beati senis, cum fieri possis
statim dives? Repraesentat opes sapientia, quas
cuicumque fecit supervacuas, dedit.”’ Haec ad alios
pertinent; tu locupletibus propior es. Saeculum
muta, nimis habes. Idem est! autem omni saeculo,
quod sat est.

11 Poteram hoc loco epistulam claudere, nisi te male
instituissem. Reges Parthorum ? non potest quisquam
salutare sine munere ; tibi valedicere non licet gratis.
Quid istic? Ab Epicuro mutuum sumam: “ Multis
parasse divitias non finis miseriarum fuit, sed mutatio.”’

12 Nec hoc miror. Non est enim in rebus vitium, sed
in ipso animo. Illud, quod paupertatem nobis gravem
fecerat, et divitias graves fecit. Quemadmodum
nihil refert, utrum aegrum in ligneo lecto an in
aureo conloces,—quocumque illum transtuleris, mor-
bum secum suum transferet,—sic nihil refert, utrum

1 idem est Gertz; id est or idem MSS.
2 Parthorum Gertz; parthos MSS.

@ Frag. 479 Usener,
114

EPISTLE XVII.

suits his needs to nature. But if the utmost pinch
of need arrives, he will quickly take leave of life and
cease being a trouble to himself. If, however, his
means of existence are meagre and scanty, he will
make the best of them, without being anxious or
worried about anything more than the barenecessities ;
he will do justice to his belly and his shoulders ;
with free and happy spirit he will laugh at the
bustling of rich men, and the flurried ways of those
who are hastening after wealth, and say: “Why of
your own accord postpone your real life to the distant
future? Shall you wait for some interest to fall due,
or for some income on your merchandise, or for a
place in the will of some wealthy old man, when
you can be rich here and now? Wisdom offers
wealth in ready money, and pays it over to those
in whose eyes she has made wealth superfluous.”
These remarks refer to other men; you are nearer
the rich class. Change the age in which you live,
and you have too much. But in every age, what
is enough remains the same.

I might close my letter at this point, if I had not
got you into bad habits. One cannot greet Parthian
royalty without bringing a gift; and in your case I
cannot say farewell without paying a price. But
what of it? I shall borrow from Epicurus*: “ The
acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an
end, but a change, of troubles.” I do not wonder.
For the fault is not in the wealth, but in the mind
itself. That which had made poverty a burden to
us, has made riches also a burden. Just as it
matters little whether you lay a sick man on a
wooden or on a golden bed, for whithersoever he
be moved he will carry his malady with him; so
one need not care whether the diseased mind is be-

115

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aeger animus in divitiis an in paupertate ponatur.
Malum illum suum sequitur. VALE.

DOV ITT:
Seneca LyciLio svO SALVTEM

December est mensis ; cum maxime civitas sudat.
Tus luxuriae publicae datum est. Ingenti apparatu
sonant omnia, tamquam quicquam inter Saturnalia
intersit et dies rerum agendarum. Adeo nihil
interest, ut non videatur! mihi errasse, qui dixit olim
mensem Decembrem fuisse, nune annum.

Si te hic haberem, libenter tecum conferrem, quid
existimares esse faciendum: utrum nihil ex cotidiana
consuetudine movendum an, ne dissidere videremur
cum publicis moribus, et hilarius cenandum et
exuendam togam. Nam quod fieri nisi in tumultu et
tristi tempore civitatis non solebat, voluptatis causa
ac festorum dierum vestem mutavimus. Si te bene
novi, arbitri partibus functus nec per omnia nos
similes esse pilleatae turbae voluisses nec per omnia
dissimiles; nisi forte his maxime diebus animo im-
perandum est, ut tune voluptatibus solus abstineat,
cum in illas omnis turba procubuit ; certissimum enim
argumentum firmitatis suae capit, si ad blanda et in
4 luxuriam trahentia nec it nec abducitur. Hoc multo
1 ut non videatur later MSS. ; ut videatur pLPb.

@ j.¢., the whole year is a Saturnalia.

> For a dinner dress.

¢ The pilleus was worn by newly freed slaves and by the
Roman populace on festal occasions.

116

EPISTLES XVII., XVIII.

stowed upon riches or upon poverty. His malady
goes with the man. Farewell.

XVIII. ON FESTIVALS AND FASTING

It is the month of December, and yet the city is
at this very moment in a sweat. Licence is given
to the general merrymaking. Everything resounds
with mighty preparations,—as if the Saturnalia
differed at all from the usual business day! So true
it is that the difference is nil, that I regard as correct
the remark of the man who said: “ Once December
was a month; now it is a year.’ *

If I had you with me, I should be glad to consult
you and find out what you think should be done,—
whether we ought to make no change in our daily
routine, or whether, in order not to be out of
sympathy with the ways of the public, we should
dine in gayer fashion and doff the toga.’ As it is
now, we Romans have changed our dress for the sake
of pleasure and holiday-making, though in former
times that was only customary when the State was
disturbed and had fallen on evil days. I am sure
that, if I know you aright, playing the part of an
umpire you would have wished that we should be
neither like the liberty-capped¢ throng in all ways,
nor in all ways unlike them; unless, perhaps, this is
just the season when we ought to lay down the law
to the soul, and bid it be alone in refraining from
pleasures just when the whole mob has let itself go
in pleasures; for this is the surest proof which a
man can get of his own constancy, if he neither
seeks the things which are seductive and allure
him to luxury, nor is led into them. It shows much

117

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

fortius est, ebrio ac vomitante populo siccum ac so-
brium esse, illud temperatius, non excerpere se nec
insigniri nec misceri omnibus et eadem, sed non
eodem modo, facere. Licet enim sine luxuria agere
festum diem.

5 Ceterum adeo mihi placet temptare animi tui
firmitatem, ut ex praecepto magnorum virorum tibi
quoque praecipiam: interponas aliquot dies, quibus
contentus minimo ac vilissimo cibo, dura atque horrida

6 veste dicas tibi: “ Hoc est quod timebatur ?” In ipsa
securitate animus ad difficilia se praeparet et contra
iniurias fortunae inter beneficia firmetur. Miles in
media pace decurrit, sine ullo hoste vallum iacit et
supervacuo labore lassatur, ut sufficere necessario
possit. Quem in ipsa re trepidare nolueris, ante rem
exerceas. Hoc secuti sunt, qui omnibus mensibus
paupertatem imitati prope ad inopiam accesserunt, ne
umquam expavescerent quod saepe didicissent.

7 Nonest nunc quod existimes me dicere Timoneas
cenas et pauperum cellas, et quicquid aliud est, per
quod luxuria divitiarum taedio ludit; grabatus ille
verus sit et sagum et panis durus ac sordidus. Hoc
triduo et quatriduo fer, interdum pluribus diebus, ut
non lusus sit, sed experimentum; tunc, mihi crede,

« The Epicureans. Cf.§ 9 and Epicurus, Frag. 158 Usener.
> Cf. Ep. c. 6 and Martial, iii. 48.

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EPISTLE XVIII.

more courage to remain dry and sober when the
mob is drunk and vomiting; but it shows greater
self-control to refuse to withdraw oneself and to do
what the crowd does, but in a different way,—thus
neither making oneself conspicuous nor becoming one
of the crowd. For one may keep holiday without
extravagance.

I am so firmly determined, however, to test the
constancy of your mind that, drawing from the
teachings of great men, I shall give you also a lesson:
Set aside a certain number of days, during which you
shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare,
with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the
while: “Is this the condition that I feared?’ It is
precisely in times of immunity from care that the
soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions
of greater stress, and it is while Fortune is kind that
it should fortify itself against her violence. In days
of peace the soldier performs manceuvres, throws
up earthworks with no enemy in sight, and wearies
himself by gratuitous toil, in order that he may be
equal to unavoidable toil. If you would not have a
man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before
it comes. Such is the course which those men” have
followed who, in their imitation of poverty, have
every month come almost to want, that they might
never recoil from what they had so often rehearsed.

You need not suppose that I mean meals like
Timon’s, or “ paupers’ huts,’ or any other device
which luxurious millionaires use to beguile the
tedium of their lives. Let the pallet be a real one,
and the coarse cloak; Jet the bread be hard and
grimy. Endure all this for three or four days at a
time, sometimes for more, so that it may be a test of
yourself instead of a mere hobby. Then, I assure

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Lucili, exultabis dipondio satur et intelleges ad
securitatem non opus esse fortuna; hoc enim, quod
necessitati sat est, dat et! irata.

8 Non est tamen quare tu multum tibi facere
videaris. Facies enim, quod multa milia servorum,
multa milia pauperum faciunt ; illo nomine te suspice,
quod facies non coactus, quod tam facile erit tibi illud
pati semper quam aliquando experiri. Exerceamur
ad palum. Et ne inparatos fortuna deprehendat, fiat
nobis paupertas familiaris. Securius divites erimus,
si scierimus, quam non sit grave pauperes esse.

9 Certos habebat dies ille magister voluptatis
Epicurus, quibus maligne famem extingueret, visurus,
an aliquid deesset ex plena et consummata voluptate,
vel quantum deesset et an dignum quod quis magno
labore pensaret. Hoc certe in his epistulis ait, quas
scripsit Charino magistratu ad Polyaenum. Et
quidem gloriatur non toto asse se? pasci, Metrodorum,

19 qui nondum tantum profecerit, toto. In hoc tu victu
saturitatem putas esse? Et voluptas est. Voluptas
autem non illa levis et fugax et subinde reficienda,
sed stabilis et certa. Non enim iucunda res est aqua
et polenta aut frustum hordeacei panis, sed summa

1 dat et Schweighauser ; debet MSS.
® s¢ added by Muretus.

* The post which gladiators used when preparing them-
selves for combats in the arena.

> Usually, identified with Chaerimus, 308-7 B.c. But
Wilhelm, Oster. Jahreshefte, V. 136, has shown that there
is probably no confusion of names. A Charinus was archon
at Athens in 290-89 ; see Johnson, Class. Phil. ix. p. 256.

120

EPISTLE XVIII.

you, my dear Lucilius, you will leap for joy when
filled with a pennyworth of food, and you will under-
stand that a man’s peace of mind does not depend
upon Fortune; for, even when angry she grants
enough for our needs.

There is no reason, however, why you should
think that you are doing anything great; for you
will merely be doing what many thousands of slaves
and many thousands of poor men are doing every
day. But you may credit yourself with this item,—
that you will not be doing it under compulsion, and
that it will be as easy for you to endure it per-
manently as to make the experiment from time to
time. Let us practise our strokes on the “ dummy” *;
let us become intimate with poverty, so that Fortune
may not catch us off our guard. We shall be rich
with all the more comfort, if we once learn how far
poverty is from being a burden.

Even Epicurus, the teacher of pleasure, used to
observe stated intervals, during which he satisfied his
hunger in niggardly fashion; he wished to see
whether he thereby fell short of full and complete
happiness, and, if so, by what amount he fell short,
and whether this amount was worth purchasing at the
price of great effort. At any rate, he makes such a
statement in the well known letter written to Poly-
aenus in the archonship of Charinus.? Indeed, he
boasts that he himself lived on less than a penny,
but that Metrodorus, whose progress was not yet
so great, needed a whole penny. Do you think
that there can be fulness on such fare? Yes, and
there is pleasure also,—not that shifty and fleeting
pleasure which needs a fillip now and then, but a
pleasure that is steadfast and sure. For though
water, barley-meal, and crusts of barley-bread, are

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voluptas est posse capere etiam ex his voluptatem et
ad id se deduxisse, quod eripere nulla fortunae

11 iniquitas possit. Liberaliora! alimenta sunt carceris,
sepositos ad capitale supplicium non tam anguste, qui
occisurus est, pascit. Quanta est animi magnitudo
ad id sua sponte descendere, quod ne ad extrema
quidem decretis timendum sit! Hoc est praeoccupare
tela fortunae.

12 = Incipe ergo, mi Lucili, sequi horum consuetudinem
et aliquos dies destina, quibus secedas a tuis rebus
minimoque te facias familiarem; incipe cum pau-
pertate habere commercium.

Aude, hospes, contemnere opes et te quoque dignum
Finge deo.

13 Nemo alius est deo dignus quam qui opes con-
tempsit. Quarum possessionem tibi non interdico,
sed efficere volo, ut illas intrepide possideas ; quod
uno consequeris modo, si te etiam sine illis beate
victurum persuaseris tibi, si illas tamquam exituras
semper aspexeris.

14. Sediam incipiamus epistulam conplicare. ‘ Prius,”
inquis, “ redde quod debes.” Delegabo te ad Epi-
curum ; ab illo fiet numeratio: “ Inmodica ira gignit
insaniam.’’ Hoc quam verum sit, necesse est scias,

15 cum habueris et servum et inimicum. In omnes
personas _ hic exardescit affectus; tam ex amore

1 liberaliora Muretus; liberiora MSS.; uberiora Buecheler.

* Vergil, Aeneid, viii. 364 f.
> Frag. 484 Usener.

122

EPISTLE XVIII.

not a cheerful diet, yet it is the highest kind of
pleasure to be able to derive pleasure from this sort
of food, and to have reduced one’s needs to that
modicum which no unfairness of Fortune can snatch
away. Even prison fare is more generous; and those
who have been set apart for capital punishment are
not so meanly fed by the man who is to execute
them. Therefore, what a noble soul must one have,
to descend of one’s own free will to a diet which
even those who have been sentenced to death have
not to fear! ‘This is indeed forestalling the spear-
thrusts of Fortune.

So begin, my dear Lucilius, to follow the custom
of these men, and set apart certain days on which
you shall withdraw from your business and make
yourself at home with the scantiest fare. Establish
business relations with poverty.

Dare, O my friend, to scorn the sight of wealth,
And mould thyself to kinship with thy God.¢

For he alone is in kinship with God who has
scorned wealth. Of course I do not forbid you to
possess it, but I would have you reach the point at
which you possess it dauntlessly ; this can be accom-
plished only by persuading yourself that you can
live happily without it as well as with it, and by
regarding riches always as likely to elude you.

But now I must begin to fold up my letter.
«<Settle your debts first,’ you cry. Here is a draft
on Epicurus; he will pay down the sum: “Un-
governed anger begets madness.”® You cannot
help knowing the truth of these words, since you have
had not only slaves, but also enemies. But indeed
this emotion blazes out against all sorts of persons ;
it springs from love as much as from hate, and shows

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

nascitur quam ex odio, non minus inter seria quam
inter lusus et iocos. Nec interest, ex quam magna
causa nascatur, sed in qualem perveniat animum.
Sic ignis non refert quam magnus, sed quo incidat.
Nam etiam maximum solida non receperunt ; rursus
arida et corripi facilia scintillam quoque fovent
usque in incendium. Ita est, mi Lucili, ingentis irae
exitus furor est, et ideo ira vitanda est non modera-

tionis causa, sed sanitatis. VALE.

XIX.

Seneca LvyciLio svo SALVTEM

Exulto, quotiens epistulas tuas accipio. Inplent
enim me bona spe et iam non promittunt de te, sed
spondent. Ita fac, oro atque obsecro. Quid enim
habeo melius, quod amicum rogem, quam quod pro
ipso rogaturus sum? Si potes, subduc te istis occupa-
tionibus ; si minus, eripe. Satis multum temporis
sparsimus; incipiamus vasa in senectute colligere.
Numquid invidiosum est? Infreto viximus, moriamur
in portu. Neque ego suaserim tibi nomen ex otio
petere, quod nec iactare debes nec abscondere.
Numquam enim usque eo te abigam generis humani
furore damnato, ut latebram tibi aliquam parari et ob-
livionem ! velim ; id age, ut-otium tuum non emineat,

1 et oblivionem Lb; oblivione p and Hense ; oblivionem P.
124

EPISTLES XVIII... XIX.

itself not less in serious matters than in jest and sport.
And it makes no difference how important the pro-
vocation may be, but into what kind of soul it pene-
trates. Similarly with fire; it does not matter how
great is the flame, but what it falls upon. For solid
timbers have repelled a very great fire; conversely,
dry and easily inflammable stuff nourishes the slightest
spark into a conflagration. So it is with anger, my
dear Lucilius; the outcome of a mighty anger is
madness, and hence anger should be avoided, not
merely that we may escape excess, but that we may
have a healthy mind. Farewell.

XIX. ON WORLDLINESS AND RETIREMENT

I leap for joy whenever I receive letters from you.
For they fill me with hope; they are now not mere
assurances concerning you, but guarantees. And I
beg and pray you to proceed in this course ; for what
better request could I make of a friend than one
which is to be made for his own sake? If possible,
withdraw yourself from all the business of which you
speak ; and if you cannot do this, tear yourself away.
We have dissipated enough of our time already; let
us in old age begin to pack up our baggage. Surely
there is nothing in this that men can begrudge us.
We have spent our lives on the high seas; let us die
in harbour. Not that I would advise you to try
to win fame by your retirement; one’s retirement
should neither be paraded nor concealed. Not con-
cealed, I say, for I shall not go so far in urging
you as to expect you to condemn all men as mad
and then seek out for yourself a hiding-place and
oblivion; rather make this your business, that your

125

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

38 sed appareat. Deinde videbunt de isto, quibus in-
tegra sunt et prima consilia, an velint vitam per
obscurum transmittere; tibi liberum non est. In
medium te protulit ingenii vigor, scriptorum elegantia,
clarae et nobiles amicitiae. Iam notitia te invasit.
Ut in extrema mergaris ac penitus recondaris, tamen

4 priora monstrabunt. Tenebras habere non potes;
sequetur, quocumque fugeris, multum pristinae lucis.

Quietem potes vindicare sine ullius odio, sine
desiderio aut morsu animi tui. Quid enim relinques,
quod invitus relictum a te possis cogitare? Clientes?
Quorum nemo te ipsum sequitur, sed aliquid ex te.
Amicitia olim petebatur, nunc praeda; mutabunt
testamenta destituti senes, migrabit ad aliud limen
salutator. Non potest parvo res magna constare ;
aestima, utrum te relinquere an aliquid ex tuis malis.

5 Utinam quidem tibi senescere contigisset intra
natalium tuorum modum, nec te in altum fortuna
misisset! Tulit te longe a conspectu vitae salubris
rapida felicitas, provincia et procuratio, et quicquid
ab istis promittitur ; maiora deinde officia te excipient

6 et ex aliis alia. Quis exitus erit? Quid expectas,

¢ See the Introduction, p. ix.

126

EPISTLE XIX.

retirement be not conspicuous, though it should be
obvious. In the second place, while those whose
choice is unhampered from the start will deliberate
on that other question, whether they wish to pass
their lives in obscurity, in your case there is not a
free choice. Your ability and energy have thrust
you into the work of the world ; so have the charm
of your writings and the friendships you have made
with famous and notable men. Renown has already
taken you by storm. You may sink yourself into
the depths of obscurity and utterly hide yourself;
yet your earlier acts will reveal you. You cannot
keep lurking in the dark; much of the old gleam
will follow you wherever you fly.

Peace you can claim for yourself without being
disliked by anyone, without any sense of loss, and
without any pangs of spirit. For what will you leave
behind you that you can imagine yourself reluctant
to leave? Your clients? But none of these men
courts you for yourself; they merely court something
from you. People used to hunt friends, but now they
hunt pelf; if a lonely old man changes his will, the
morning-caller transfers himself to another door.
Great things cannot be bought for small sums; so
reckon up whether it is preferable to leave your own
true self, or merely some of your belongings. Would
that you had had the privilege of*growing old amid
the limited circumstances of your origin, and that
fortune had not raised you to such heights! You
were removed far from the sight of wholesome living
by your swift rise to prosperity, by your province,
by your position as procurator,* and by all that such
things promise ; you will next acquire more important
duties and after them still more. And what will be
the result? Why wait until there is nothing left for

127

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

donec desinas habere, quod cupias? Numquam erit
id tempus.! Qualem dicimus seriem esse causarum,
ex quibus nectitur fatum, talem esse? cupiditatum ;
altera ex fine alterius nascitur. In eam demissus es
vitam, quae numquam tibi terminum miseriarum ac
servitutis ipsa factura sit. Subduc cervicem iugo
tritam ; semel illam incidi quam semper premi satius

7 est. Si te ad privata rettuleris, minora erunt omnia,
sed affatim implebunt; at nunc plurima et undique
ingesta non satiant. Utrum autem mavis ex inopia
saturitatem an in copia famem? et avida felicitas est
et alienae aviditati exposita. Quamdiu tibi satis nihil
fuerit, ipse aliis non eris.

8 ‘Quomodo,’ inquis, “exibo?’’ Utcumque. Cogita,
quam multa temere pro pecunia, quam multa laboriose
prohonore temptaveris ; aliquid et pro otio audendum
est, aut in ista sollicitudine procurationum et deinde
urbanorum officiorum senescendum in tumultu ac
semper novis fluctibus, quos effugere nulla modestia,
nulla vitae quiete contigit. Quid enim ad rem
pertinet, an tu quiescere velis? Fortuna tua nor
vult. Quid si illi etiam nunc permiseris crescere?
Quantum ad successus accesserit, accedet ad metus.

9 Volo tibi hoc loco referre dictum Maecenatis vera in

1 erit id tempus Buecheler ; erit tempus MSS.
2 Madvig would insert scias or puta.

« The procurator did the work of a quaestor in an
imperial province. Positions at Rome to which Lucilius
might succeed were such as praefectus annonae, in charge of
the grain supply, or praefectus urbi, Director of Public
Safety, and others,

128

EPISTLE XIX,

you tocrave? That time will never come. We hold
that there is a succession of causes, from which fate
is woven; similarly, you may be sure, there is a
succession in our desires; for one begins where its
predecessor ends. You have been thrust into an
existence which will never of itself put an end to
your wretchedness and your slavery. Withdraw your
chafed neck from the yoke ; it is better that it should
be cut off once for all, than galled for ever. If you
retreat to privacy, everything will be on a smaller
scale, but you will be satisfied abundantly; in your
present condition, however, there is no satisfaction
in the plenty which is heaped upon you on all sides.
Would you rather be poor and sated, or rich and
hungry? Prosperity is not only greedy, but it also
lies exposed to the greed of others. And as long as
nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy
others.

“But,” you say, “how can I take my leave?”
Any way you please. Reflect how many hazards
you have ventured for the sake of money, and how
much toil you have undertaken for a title! You
must dare something to gain leisure, also,—or else
grow old amid the worries of procuratorships ¢
abroad and subsequently of civil duties at home, living
in turmoil and in ever fresh floods of responsibilities,
which no man has ever succeeded in avoiding by
unobtrusiveness or by seclusion of life. For what
bearing on the case has your personal desire for a
secluded life? Your position in the world desires
the opposite! What if, even now, you allow that
position to grow greater? But all that is added to
vour successes will be added to your fears. At this
point I should like to quote a saying of Maecenas,
who spoke the truth when he stood on the very

129

10

1]

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ipso culmine! elocuti: “Ipsa enim altitudo attonat
summa.” Si quaeris, in quo libro dixerit ; in eo, qui
Prometheus inscribitur. Hoc voluit dicere, attonita
habet summa. Est ergo tanti ulla potentia, ut sit tibi
tam ebrius sermo? Ingeniosus ille vir fuit, magnum
exemplum Romanae eloquentiae daturus, nisi illum
enervasset felicitas, immo castrasset. Hic te exitus
manet, nisi iam contrahes vela, nisi, quod ille sero
voluit, terram leges.

Poteram tecum hac Maecenatis sententia parem
facere rationem. Sed movebis mihi controversiam,
si novi te, nec voles quod debeo in aspero et inprobo
accipere. Ut se res habet, ab Epicuro versura
facienda est. “Ante,” inquit, “ circumspiciendum
est, cum quibus edas et bibas, quam quid edas e
bibas. Nam sine amico visceratio leonis ac lupi vita
est.” Hoc non continget tibi, nisi secesseris ; alioqui
habebis convivas, quos ex turba salutantium nomen-
clator digesserit. Errat autem, qui amicum in atrio
quaerit, in convivio probat. Nullum habet maius
malum occupatus homo et bonis suis obsessus, quam
quod amicos sibi putat, quibus ipse non est, quod
beneficia sua efficacia iudicat ad conciliandos amicos,

1 in ipso culmine Capps ; in ipso eculeo MSS.

@ And therefore could speak with authority on this point.

® Perhaps a tragedy, although Seneca uses the word liber
to describe it. Maecenas wrote a Symposium, a work De
cultu suo, Octavia, some stray verse, and perhaps some
history. See Seneca, Epp. xcil. and ci.

¢ Seneca whimsically pretends to assume that eccentric
literary style and high political position go hand in hand.
See also the following sentence.

¢ Epicurus, Frag. 542 Usener.

e A slave kept by every prominent Roman to identify
the master’s friends and dependants.

130

EPISTLE XIX.

summit: “There’s thunder even on the loftiest
peaks.” If you ask me in what book these words
are found, they occur in the volume entitled
Prometheus.” He simply meant to say that these lofty
peaks have their tops surrounded with thunder-storms.
But is any power worth so high a price that a man
like you would ever, in order to obtain it, adopt a
style so debauched as that?® Maecenas was indeed
a man of parts, who would have left a great pattern
for Roman oratory to follow, had his good fortune
not made him effeminate,—nay, had it not emasculated
him! An end like his awaits you also, unless you
forthwith shorten sail and,—as Maecenas was not
willing to do until it was too late,—hug the shore!
This saying of Maecenas’s might have squared my
account with you; but I feel sure, knowing you,
that you will get out an injunction against me,
and that you will be unwilling to accept payment
of my debt in such crude and debased currency.
However that may be, I shall draw on the account
of Epicurus.¢ He says: “ You must reflect carefully
beforehand with whom you are to eat and drink,
rather than what you are to eat and drink. For a
dinner of meats without the company of a friend is
like the life of a lion or a wolf.” This privilege
will not be yours unless you withdraw from the
world ; otherwise, you will have as guests only those
whom your slave-secretary ° sorts out from the throng
of callers. It is, however, a mistake to select your
friend in the reception-hall or to test him at the
dinner-table. The most serious misfortune for a busy
man who is overwhelmed by his possessions is, that
he believes men to be his friends when he himself is
not a friend to them, and that he deems his favours
to be effective in winning friends, although, in the

131

12

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

cum quidam, quo plus debent, magis oderint. Leve
aes alienum debitorem facit, grave inimicum. “ Quid
ergo? Beneficia non parant amicitias?” Parant,
si accepturos licuit eligere, si conlocata, non sparsa
sunt.

Itaque dum incipis esse mentis tuae, interim hoc
consilio sapientium utere, ut magis ad rem existimes
pertinere, quis, quam quid acceperit. VALe.

XX.
Seneca LvciLio svO SALVTEM

Si vales et te dignum putas, qui aliquando fias
tuus, gaudeo. Mea enim gloria erit, si te istinc, ubi
sine spe exeundi fluctuaris, extraxero. I[llud autem
te, mi Lucili, rogo atque hortor, ut philosophiam in
praecordia ima demittas et experimentum profectus
tui capias non oratione nec scripto, sed animi firmi-
tate, cupiditatum deminutione ; verba rebus proba.

Aliud propositum est declamantibus et adsen-
sionem coronae captantibus, aliud his, qui iuvenum
et otiosorum aures disputatione varia aut volubili
detinent; facere docet philosophia, non dicere, et
hoc exigit, ut ad legem suam quisque vivat, ne
orationi vita dissentiat, ut ipsa intra se vita unius sit
omnium actionum sine dissensione coloris.1 Maxi-
mum hoc est et officium sapientiae et indicium, ut

1 intra .. . coloris Haupt; inter se vita .. . his sit

omnium actio dissertionum color sit p, unus or una L? Pb,
coloris later MSS.

132

EPISTLES XIX., XX.

case of certain men, the more they owe, the more
they hate. A trifling debt makes a man your debtor;
a large one makes him an enemy. “ What,’ you
say, “do not kindnesses establish friendships ?”’
They do, if one has had the privilege of choosing
those who are to receive them, and if they are placed
judiciously, instead of being scattered broadcast.

Therefore, while you are beginning to call your
mind your own, meantime apply this maxim of the
wise: consider that it is more important who receives
a thing, than what it is he receives. Farewell.

XX. ON PRACTISING WHAT YOU PREACH

If you are in good health and if you think your-
self worthy of becoming at last your own master, I
am glad. For the credit will be mine, if I can drag
you from the floods in which you are being buffeted
without hope of emerging. This, however, my dear
Lucilius, I ask and beg of you, on your part, that
you let wisdom sink into your soul, and test your
progress, not by mere speech or writings, but by
stoutness of heart and decrease of desire. Prove
your words by your deeds.

Far different is the purpose of those who are
speech-making and trying to win the approbation of
a throng of hearers, far different that of those who
allure the ears of young men and idlers by many-
sided or fluent argumentation; philosophy teaches
us to act, not to speak; it exacts of every man that
he should live according to his own standards, that
his life should not be out of harmony with his words,
and that, further, his inner life should be of one hue
and not out of harmony with all his activities. This,
I say, is the highest duty and the highest proof of

133

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

verbis opera concordent, ut ipse ubique par sibi
idemque sit.
“Quis hoc praestabit?”? Pauci, aliqui tamen.
Est enim difficile hoc; nee hoe dico, sapientem uno
3 semper iturum gradu, sed una via. Observa te!
itaque, numquid vestis tua domusque dissentiant,
numquid in te liberalis sis, in tuos sordidus, numquid
cenes frugaliter, aedifices Juxuriose. Unam semel
ad quam vivas regulam prende et ad hance omnem
vitam tuam exaequa. Quidam se domi contrahunt,
dilatant foris et extendunt ; vitium est haec diversitas
et signum vacillantis animi ac nondum habentis te-
4 norem suum. Etiamnunc dicam, unde sit ista incon-
stantia et dissimilitudo rerum consiliorumque : nemo
proponit sibi, quid velit, nec si proposuit, perseverat
in eo, sed transilit; nec tantum mutat, sed redit et
5 in ea, quae deseruit ac damnavit, revolvitur. Itaque
ut relinquam definitiones sapientiae veteres et totum
conplectar humanae vitae modum, hoc possum con-
tentus esse: Quid est sapientia? Semper idem velle
atque idem nolle. Licet illam exceptiunculam non
adicias, ut rectum sit, quod velis; non potest enim
cuiquam idem semper placere nisi rectum.
6 Nesciunt ergo homines, quid velint, nisi illo
momento, quo volunt; in totum nulli velle aut

1 observa te Hense; observare MSS.

@ Seneca applies to wisdom the definition of friendship,
Sallust, Catiline, 20. 4 idem velle atque idem nolle, ea demum
jirma amicitia est.

134

EPISTLE XX.

wisdom,—that deed and word should be in accord,
that a man should be equal to himself under all con-
ditions, and always the same.

“ But,” you reply, “who can maintain this
standard?” Very few, to be sure; but there are
some. It is indeed a hard undertaking, and I do
not say that the philosopher can always keep the
same pace. But he can always travel the same path.
Observe yourself, then, and see whether your dress
and your house are inconsistent, whether you treat
yourself lavishly and your family meanly, whether
you eat frugal dinners and yet build luxurious houses.
You should lay hold, once for all, upon a single
norm to live by, and should regulate your whole life
according to this norm. Some men restrict them-
selves at home, but strut with swelling port before the
public ; such discordance is a fault, and it indicates
a wavering mind which cannot yet keep its balance.
And I can tell you, further, whence arise this un-
steadiness and disagreement of action and purpose ;
it is because no man resolves upon what he wishes,
and, even if he has done so, he does not persist in it,
but jumps the track ; not only does he change, but
he returns and slips back to the conduct which he
has abandoned and abjured. Therefore, to omit the
ancient definitions of wisdom and to include the whole
manner of human life, I can be satisfied with the
following: ‘“ What is wisdom? Always desiring the
same things, and always refusing the same things.” @
You may be excused from adding the little proviso,
—that what you wish, should be right; since no
man can always be satisfied with the same thing,
unless it is right.

For this reason men do not know what they wish,
except at the actual moment of wishing; no man

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

nolle decretum est. Variatur cotidie iudicium et in
contrarium vertitur ac plerisque agitur vita per
lusum. Preme ergo quod coepisti, et fortasse per-
duceris aut ad summum aut eo, quod summum
nondum esse solus intellegas,

7 © Quid fiet,” inquis, “ huic turbae familiarium sine !
re familiari?’’ Turba ista cum a te pasci desierit,
ipsa se pascet, aut quod tu beneficio tuo non potes
scire, paupertatis scies. Illa veros certosque amicos
retinebit ; discedet quisquis non te, sed aliud seque-
batur. Non est autem vel ob hoc unum amanda
paupertas, quod a quibus ameris ostendet ? O quando
ille veniet dies, quo nemo in honorem tuum men-

8 tiatur! Hue ergo cogitationes tuae tendant, hoc
cura, hoc opta, omnia alia vota deo remissurus, ut
contentus sis temet ipso et ex te nascentibus bonis.
Quae potest esse felicitas propior? Redige te ad
parva, ex quibus cadere non possis, idque ut libentius
facias, ad hoc pertinebit tributum huius epistulae,
quod statim conferam.

9 Invideas licet, etiam nunc libenter pro me depen-
det Epicurus. “ Magnificentior, mihi crede, sermo
tuus in grabato videbitur et in panno. Non enim
dicentur tantum illa, sed probabuntur.”’ Ego certe

1 sine Hense; sive MSS.

¢ Frag. 206 Usener,
136

EPISTLE XX.

ever decided once and for all to desire or to refuse.
Judgment varies from day to day, and changes to
the opposite, making many a man pass his life in
a kind of game. Press on, therefore, as you have
begun ; perhaps you will be led to perfection, or to
a point which you alone understand is still short of
perfection.

“ But what,” you say, “ will become of my crowded
household without a household income?” If you
stop supporting that crowd, it will support itself; or
perhaps you will learn by the bounty of poverty what
you cannot learn by your own bounty. Poverty will
keep for you your true and tried friends; you will
be rid of the men who were not seeking you for
yourself, but for something which you have. Is it
not true, however, that you should love poverty, if
only for this single reason,—that it will show you
those by whom you are loved? O when will that
time come, when no one shall tell lies to compliment
you! Accordingly, let your thoughts, your efforts,
your desires, help to make you content with your own
self and with the goods that spring from yourself ;
and commit all your other prayers to God’s keeping!
What happiness could come closer home to you ?
Bring yourself down to humble conditions, from
which you cannot be ejected; and in order that you
may do so with greater alacrity, the contribution
contained in this letter shall refer to that subject ;
I shall bestow it upon you forthwith.

Although you may look askance, Epicurus® will
once again be glad to settle my indebtedness :
“ Believe me, your words will be more imposing if
you sleep on a cot and wear rags. For in that case
you will not be merely saying them; you will be
demonstrating their truth.” I, at any rate, listen in

137

10

11

13

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aliter audio, quae dicit Demetrius noster, cum illum
vidi nudum, quanto minus quam! stramentis, incu-
bantem ; non praeceptor veri, sed testis est. “ Quid
ergo? Non licet divitias in sinu positas contem-
nere?’’ Quidni liceat? Et ille ingentis animi est,
qui illas circumfusas sibi, multum diuque miratus,
quod ad se venerint, ridet suasque audit magis esse
quam sentit. Multum est non corrumpi divitiarum
contubernio ; magnus ille, qui in divitiis pauper est.
“ Nescio,’ inquis, “ quomodo paupertatem iste laturus
sit, si in illam inciderit.””. Nee ego, Epicure, an
tuus ? iste pauper contempturus sit divitias, si in illas
inciderit; itaque in utroque mens aestimanda est
inspiciendumque, an ille paupertati indulgeat, an
hic divitiis non indulgeat. Alioquin leve argu-
mentum est bonae voluntatis grabatus aut pannus,
nisi apparuit aliquem illa non necessitate pati, sed
malle.

Ceterum magnae indolis est ad ista non properare
tamquam meliora, sed praeparari tamquam ad facilia.
Et sunt, Lucili, facilia; cum vero multo ante medi-
tatus accesseris, iucunda quoque; inest enim illis,
sine qua nihil est iucundum, securitas. | Necessarium
ergo iudico, id quod tibi scripsi magnos viros saepe

1 quam in MSS. in del. Haupt.
2 an tuus P. Thomas ; angulus si pL.

@ 1.¢., the life of voluntary poverty.
138

EPISTLE XxX.

a different spirit to the utterances of our friend
Demetrius, after I have seen him reclining without
even a cloak to cover him, and, more than this, with-
out rugs to lie upon. He is not only a teacher of
the truth, but a witness to the truth. “ May not a
man, however, despise wealth when it lies in his
very pocket ?”’ Of course ; he also is great-souled,
who sees riches heaped up round him and, after
wondering long and deeply because they have come
into his possession, smiles, and hears rather than
feels that they are his. It means much not to be
spoiled by intimacy with riches; and he is truly
great who is poor amidst riches. “ Yes, but J do not
know,” you say, “how the man you speak of will
endure poverty, if he falls into it suddenly.” Nor do
I, Epicurus, know whether the poor man you speak
of will despise riches, should he suddenly fall into
them; accordingly, in the case of both, it is the
mind that must be appraised, and we must investi-
gate whether your man is pleased with his poverty,
and whether my man is displeased with his riches.
Otherwise, the cot-bed and the rags are slight proof
of his good intentions, if it has not been made clear
that the person concerned endures these trials not
from necessity but from preference.

It is the mark, however, of a noble spirit not to
precipitate oneself into such things® on the ground
that they are better, but to practise for them on
the ground that they are thus easy to endure. And
they are easy to endure, Lucilius ; when, however,
you come to them after long rehearsal, they are even
pleasant ; for they contain a sense of freedom from
care,—and without this nothing is pleasant. I hold
it essential, therefore, to do as I have told you in a
letter that great men have often done: to reserve a

139

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

fecisse: aliquos dies interponere, quibus nos imaginaria
paupertate exerceamus ad veram. Quod eo magis
faciendum est, quod deliciis permaduimus et omnia
dura ac difficilia iudicamus. Potius excitandus e
somno et vellicandus est animus admonendusque
naturam nobis minimum constituisse. Nemo nascitur
dives. Quisquis exit in lucem, iussus est lacte et
panno esse contentus; ab his initiis nos regna non
capiunt. VALE.

XXI,

Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Cum istis tibi esse negotium iudicas, de quibus
scripseras? Maximum negotium tecum habes; tu
tibi molestus es. Quid velis nescis; melius probas
honesta quam sequeris ; vides, ubi sit posita felicitas,
sed ad illam pervenire non audes. Quid sit autem,
quod te inpediat, quia parum ipse dispicis, dicam.

Magna esse haec existimas, quae relicturus es,
et cum proposuisti tibi illam securitatem, ad quam
transiturus es, retinet te huius vitae, a qua recessurus
es, fulgor tamquam in sordida et obscura casurum.

2 Erras, Lucili; ex hac vita ad illam adscenditur.
Quod interest inter splendorem et lucem, cum haec

« Adapted from the epigram on Alexander the Great,
‘*hic est quem non capit orbis.” See Plutarch, Alexander,
8 6 & wai, (nret ceaurw Bacirelav tonv: Maxedovla yap ce ob
xwpet, and Seneca, Ep. cxix. 8.

140

EPISTLES XX.,, XXI.

few days in which we may prepare ourselves for real
poverty by means of fancied poverty. There is all
the more reason for doing this, because we have been
steeped in luxury and regard all duties as hard and
onerous. Rather let the soul be roused from its sleep
and be prodded, and let it be reminded that nature
has prescribed very little for us. No man is born rich.
Every man, when he first sees light, is commanded
to be content with milk and rags. Such is our
beginning, and yet kingdoms are all too small for
us!* Farewell.

XXI. ON THE RENOWN WHICH MY
WRITINGS WILL BRING YOU

Do you conclude that you are having difficulties
with those men about whom you wrote to me?
Your greatest difficulty is with yourself; for you are
your own stumbling-block. You do not know what
you want. You are better at approving the right
course Lhan at following it out. You see where the
true happiness lies, but you have not the courage to
attain it. Let me tell you what it is that hinders
you, inasmuch as you do not of yourself discern it.

You think that this condition, which you are to
abandon, is one of importance, and after resolving
upon that ideal state of calm into which you hope
to pass, you are held back by the lustre of your
present life, from which it is your intention to
depart, just as if you were about to fall into a state
of filth and darkness. This is a mistake, Lucilius ;
to go from your present life into the other is a
promotion. There is the same difference between

141

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

certam originem habeat ac suam ille niteat alieno,
hoc inter hanc vitam et illam ; haec fulgore extrinse-
cus veniente percussa est, crassam illi statim umbram
faciet quisquis obstiterit ; illa suo lumine inlustris
est.
Studia te tua clarum et nobilem efficient. Exem-
3 plum Epicuri referam. Cum Idomeneo scriberet
et illum a vita speciosa ad fidelem stabilemque
gloriam revocaret, rigidae’ tunc potentiae ministrum
et magna tractantem: “Si gloria,” inquit, “ tangeris,
notiorem te epistulae meae facient quam omnia ista,
4 quae colis et propter quae coleris.’”’ Numquid ergo
mentitus est? Quis Idomenea nosset, nisi Epicurus
illum litteris suis incidisset? Omnes illos megistanas
et satrapas et regem ipsum, ex quo Idomenei titulus
petebatur, oblivio alta suppressit. Nomen Attici
perire Ciceronis epistulae non sinunt. Nihil illi
profuisset gener Agrippa et Tiberius progener et
Drusus Caesar pronepos; inter tam magna nomina
5 taceretur, nisi sibi? Cicero illum adplicuisset. Pro-
funda super nos altitudo temporis veniet, pauca
ingenia caput exerent et in idem quandoque silentium
abitura oblivioni resistent ac se diu vindicabunt.
1 For rigidae Lipsius proposed regiae, ‘‘ like that of a

king.” This may be the correct reading.
2 sibi inserted by Gertz.

@ Epicurus, Frag. 132 Usener.

> 4.e., Cicero’s letters did more to preserve the name of
Atticus than such a connexion with the imperial house
would have done.

142

EPISTLE XXII.

these two lives as there is between mere brightness
and real light; the latter has a definite source
within itself, the other borrows its radiance; the
one is called forth by an illumination coming
from the outside, and anyone who stands between
the source and the object immediately turns the
latter into a dense shadow; but the other has a
glow that comes from within.

It is your own studies that will make you shine
and will render you eminent. Allow me to mention
the case of Epicurus. He was writing * to Idomeneus
and trying to recall him from a showy existence to
sure and steadfast renown. Idomeneus was at that
time a minister of state who exercised a rigorous
authority and had important affairs in hand. “ If,”
said Epicurus, “you are attracted by fame, my
letters will make you more renowned than all the
things which you cherish and which make you
cherished.” Did Epicurus speak falsely? Who
would have known of Idomeneus, had not the philo-
sopher thus engraved his name in those letters of
his? All the grandees and satraps, even the king
himself, who was petitioned for the title which
Idomeneus sought, are sunk in deep oblivion.
Cicero’s letters keep the name of Atticus from
perishing. It would have profited Atticus nothing
to have an Agrippa for a son-in-law, a Tiberius for
the husband of his grand-daughter, and a Drusus
Caesar for a great-grandson; amid these mighty
names his name would never be spoken, had not
Cicero bound him to himself.2 The deep flood of
time will roll over us; some few great men will raise
their heads above it, and, though destined at the last
to depart into the same realms of silence, will battle
against oblivion and maintain their ground for long.

VOL; I F 143

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Quod Epicurus amico suo potuit promittere, hoc
tibi promitto, Lucili. Habebo apud posteros gratiam,
possum mecum duratura nomina educere. Vergilius
noster duobus memoriam aeternam promisit et
praestat :

Fortunati ambo! Siquid mea carmina possunt,
Nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet aevo,

Dum domus Aeneae Capitoli immobile saxum
Accolet imperiumque pater Romanus habebit.

6 Quoscumque in medium fortuna protulit, quicum-
que membra ac partes alienae potentiae fuerunt,
horum gratia viguit, domus frequentata est, dum
ipsi steterunt; post ipsos cito memoria defecit.
Ingeniorum crescit dignatio nec ipsis tantum honor
habetur, sed quicquid illorum memoriae adhaesit,
excipitur.

7 Ne gratis Idomeneus in epistulam meam venerit:
ipse eam de suo redimet. Ad hune Epicurus illam
nobilem sententiam scripsit, qua hortatur, ut Pytho-
clea locupletem non publica nec ancipiti via faciat.
«Si vis,’ inquit, “ Pythoclea divitem facere, non
pecuniae adiciendum, sed cupiditati detrahendum

§ est.”” Et apertior ista sententia est quam ut inter-
pretanda sit, et disertior quam ut adiuvanda. Hoc
unum te admoneo, ne istud tantum existimes de
divitiis dictura ; quocumque transtuleris, idem poterit.

2 Aeneid, ix. 446 ff.

» As in the case of Epicurus and Idomeneus, Cicero and
Atticus, Vergil and Euryalus and Nisus, and Seneca and
Lucilius !

¢ Frag. 1385 Usener.

1 44

EPISTLE XXI.

That which Epicurus could promise his friend,
this I promise you, Lacilius. I shall find favour
among later generations; I can take with me names
that will endure as long as mine. Our poet Vergil
promised an eternal name to two heroes, and is
keeping his promise : ¢

Blest heroes twain! If power my song possess,
The record of your names shall never be
Erased from out the book of Time, while yet
Aeneas’ tribe shall keep the Capitol,

That rock immovable, and Roman sire
Shall empire hold.

Whenever men have been thrust forward by fortune,
whenever they have become part and parcel of
another's influence, they have found abundant favour,
their houses have been thronged, only so long as
they themselves have kept their position; when
they themselves have left it, they have slipped at
once from the memory of men. But in the case of
innate ability, the respect in which it is held in-
creases, and not only does honour accrue to the man
himself, but whatever has attached itself to his
memory is passed on from one to another.?

In order that Idomeneus may not be introduced
free of charge into my letter, he shall make up the
indebtedness from his own account. It was to him
that Epicurus addressed the well-known saying,’
urging him to make Pythocles rich, but not rich in
the vulgar and equivocal way. “If you wish,’ said
he, “to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store
of money, but subtract from his desires.”” This idea
is too clear to need explanation, and too clever to
need reinforcement. There is, however, one point
on which I would warn you,—not to consider that
this statement applies only to riches; its value will

145

9

10

1]

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Si vis Pythoclea honestum facere, non honoribus
adiciendum est, sed cupiditatibus detrahendum. Si vis
Pythoclea esse in perpetua voluptate, non voluptatibus
adiciendum est, sed cupiditatibus detrahendum ; si
vis Pythoclea senem facere et inplere vitam, non
annis adiciendum est, sed cupiditatibus detrahendum.
Has voces non est quod Epicuri esse iudices ; publicae
sunt. Quod fieri in senatu solet, faciendum ego in
philosophia quoque existimo: cum censuit aliquis,
quod ex parte mihi placeat, iubeo illum dividere
sententiam et sequor, quod probo. Eo! libentius
Epicuri egregia dicta commemoro, ut istis,? qui ad
illum * confugiunt spe mala inducti, qui velamentum
ipsos vitiorum suorum habituros existimant, probem 4
quocumqgue ierint honeste esse vivendum.

Cum adieris® eius hortulos et inscriptum hortulis
legeris ©

Hospes, hic bene manebis, hic summum bonum voluptas
est,

paratus erit istius domicilii custos hospitalis, humanus,
et te polenta excipiet et aquam quoque large ministra-
Dit et dicck: “EBequid bene acceptus ess + “avon
inritant,” inquit, “hi hortuli famem, sed extinguunt.
Nec maiorem ipsis potionibus sitim faciunt, sed
naturali et gratuito remedio sedant. In hac voluptate
consenui.”’

De his tecum desideriis loquor, quae consolationem
non recipiunt, quibus dandum est aliquid, ut desinant.

1 quod probo eo Haupt and Madvig ; pro eo or probeo MSS.

2 estis Muretus ; ist? MSS.

3 illum Haupt; illam or illa MSS,

4 probem Muretus ; probent MSS.

5 adieris Schweighauser ; aud (ad) terithis p; audierit his L;
adieretis audierit his Pb.

6 legeris added by Buecheler; inscriptum hortulis pL;
inscriptum portae videris Wilamowitz.

146

EPISTLE XX].

be the same, no matter how you apply it. “If you
wish to make Pythocles honourable, do not add to
his honours, but subtract from his desires”; “if
you wish Pythocles to have pleasure for ever, do not
add to his pleasures, but subtract from his desires ” ;
“if you wish to make Pythocles an old man, filling
his life to the full, do not add to his years, but
subtract from his desires.’ There is no reason why
you should hold that these words belong to Epicurus
alone; they are public property. I think we ought
to do in philosophy as they are wont to do in the
Senate: when someone has made a motion, of which
I approve to a certain extent, [ ask him to make his
motion in two parts, and I vote for the part which
I approve. So I am all the more glad to repeat
the distinguished words of Epicurus, in order that
I may prove to those who have recourse to him
through a bad motive, thinking that they will have
in him a screen for their own vices, that they
must live honourably, no matter what school they
follow.

Go to his Garden and read the motto carved
there: “Stranger, here you will do well to tarry ;
here our highest good is pleasure.” The care-taker
of that abode, a kindly host, will be ready for you;
he will welcome you with barley-meal and serve
you water also in abundance, with these words:
«“ Have you not been well entertained?” “This
garden,” he says, “does not whet your appetite ; it
quenches it. Nor does it make you more thirsty with
every drink; it slakes the thirst by a natural cure,
—a cure that demands no fee. This is the ‘ pleasure’
in which I have grown old.”

In speaking with you, however, I refer to those
desires which refuse alleviation, which must be

147

THE EPISTILES OF SENECA

Nam de illis extraordinariis, quae licet differre, licet
castigare et opprimere, hoc unum commonefaciam :
ista voluptas naturalis est, non necessaria ; huic nihil
debes; si quid inpendis, voluntarium est. Venter
praecepta non audit; poscit, appellat. Non est
tamen molestus creditor; parvo dimittitur, si modo
das illi, quod debes, non quod potes. VALE.

XXII.
Seneca I.vciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Jam intellegis educendum esse te ex istis occu-
pationibus speciosis et malis. Sed quo modo id con-
sequi possis quaeris. Quaedam non nisi a praesente
monstrantur. Non potest medicus per epistulas cibi
aut balinei tempus eligere; vena tangenda est.
Vetus proverbium est gladiatorem in harena capere
consilium; aliquid adversarii vultus, aliquid manus
mota, aliquid ipsa inclinatio corporis intuentem

2monet. Quid fieri soleat, quid oporteat, in univer-
sum et mandari potest et scribi; tale consilium non
tantum absentibus, etiam posteris datur. Illud al-
terum, quando fieri debeat aut quemadmodum, ex
longinquo nemo suadebit, cum rebus ipsis delibe-

¢ The first question, ‘* Shall I withdraw from the world?”
has been answered, apparently by Lucilius himself. The
second was, ‘‘ How can I accomplish this?” Seneca pre-
tends to answer it, although he feels that this should be
done in personal conference rather than by writing.

148

EPISTLES XXI., XXII.

bribed to cease. For in regard to the exceptional
desires, which may be postponed, which may be
chastened and checked, | have this one thought to
share with you: a pleasure of that sort is according
to our nature, but it is not according to our needs ;
one owes nothing to it; whatever is expended upon
it isa free gift. The belly will not listen to advice ;
it makes demands, it importunes. And yet it is not
a troublesome creditor; you can send it away at
small cost, provided only that you give it what you
owe, not merely all you are able to give. Farewell.

XXL. ON THE FUTILITY OF HALF-WAY
MEASURES

You understand by this time that you must with-
draw yourself from those showy and depraved pur-
suits; but you still wish to know how this may be
accomplished. There are certain things which can
be pointed out only by someone who is present.
The physician cannot prescribe by letter the proper
time for eating or bathing; he must feel the pulse.
There is an old adage about gladiators,—that they
plan their fight in the ring; as they intently watch,
something in the adversary’s glance, some movement
of his hand, even some slight bending of his body,
gives a warning. We can formulate general rules
and commit them to writing, as to what is usually
done, or ought to be done; such advice may be
given, not only to our absent friends, but also to
succeeding generations. In regard, however, to
that second “ question,—when or how your plan is
to be carried out,—no one will advise at Jong range ;

149

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA
3 randum est. Non tantum praesentis, sed vigilantis
est occasionem observare properantem. Itaque hance
circumspice, hanc si videris, prende et toto impetu,
totis viribus id age, ut te istis officiis exuas.

Et quidem quam sententiam feram, adtende. Cen-
seo aut ex ista vita tibi aut e vita exeundum. Sed
idem illud existimo, leni eundum via, ut quod male
inplicuisti, solvas potius quam abrumpas, dummodo
si alia solvendi ratio non erit, vel abrumpas. Nemo
tam timidus est, ut malit semper pendere quam semel

4 cadere. Interim, quod primum est, impedire te noli.
Contentus esto negotiis, in quae descendisti, vel
quod videri mavis, incidistii Non est quod ad
ulteriora nitaris; aut perdes excusationem et ap-
parebit te non incidisse. Ista enim, quae dici solent,
falsa sunt: “Non potui aliter. Quid, si nollem?
Necesse erat.’’ Nulli necesse est felicitatem cursu
sequi; est aliquid, etiam si non repugnare, subsistere

5 nec instare fortunae ferenti. Numquid offenderis,
si in consilium non venio tantum, sed advoco, et

quidem prudentiores quam ipse sum, ad quos soleo
150

EPISTLE XXII.

we must take counsel in the presence of the actual
situation. You must be not only present in the
body, but watchful in mind, if you would avail your-
self of the fleeting opportunity. Accordingly, look
about you for the opportunity; if you see it, grasp
it, and with all your energy and with all your
strength devote yourself to this task,—to rid yourself
of those business duties.

Now listen carefully to the opinion which I shall
offer; it is my opinion that you should withdraw
either from that kind of existence, or else from ex-
istence altogether. But I likewise maintain that
you should take a gentle path, that you may loosen
rather than cut the knot which you have bungled
so badly in tying,—provided that if there shall be
no other way of loosening it, you may actually cut
it. No man is so faint-hearted that he would rather
hang in suspense for ever than drop once for all.
Meanwhile,—and this is of first importance,—do not
hamper yourself; be content with the business into
which you have lowered yourself, or, as you prefer
to have people think, have tumbled. There is no
reason why you should be struggling on to some-
thing further; if you do, you will lose all grounds of
excuse, and men will see that it was not a tumble.
The usual explanation which men offer is wrong:
“I was compelled to do it. Suppose it was against
my will; I had to do it.’’ But no one is compelled
to pursue prosperity at top speed; it means some-
thing to call a halt,—even if one does not offer re-
sistance,—instead of pressing eagerly after favouring
fortune. Shall you then be put out with me, if I
not only come to advise you, but also call in others
to advise you,— wiser heads than my own, men
before whom I am wont to lay any problem upon

VOL. I F 2 151

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

deferre, si quid delibero? Epicuri epistulam ad hance
rem pertinentem lege, Idomeneo quae inscribitur,}
quem rogat, ut quantum potest fugiat et properet,
antequam aliqua vis maior interveniat et auferat

6 libertatem recedendi. Idem tamen subicit nihil esse
temptandum, nisi cum apte poterit tempestiveque
temptari. Sed cum illud tempus captatum diu
venerit, exiliendum ait. Dormitare de fuga cogi-
tantem vetat et sperat salutarem etiam ex difficillimis
exitum, si nec properemus ante tempus nec cesse-
mus in tempore.

7 Puto, nunc et Stoicam sententiam quaeris. Non
est quod quisquam illos apud te temeritatis infamet ;
cautiores quam fortiores sunt. Expectas forsitan,
ut tibi haec dicant: ‘“Turpe est cedere oneri. Luc-
tare cum officio, quod semel recepisti. Non est vir
fortis ac strenuus qui laborem fugit, nisi crescit illi

g animus ipsa rerum difficultate.” Dicentur tibi ista,
si operae pretium habebit perseverantia, si nihil in-
dignum bono viro faciendum patiendumve erit ; alio-
qui sordido se et contumelioso labore non conteret
nec in negotiis erit negotii causa. Ne illud quidem,
quod existimas facturum eum, faciet, ut ambitiosis
rebus inplicitus semper aestus earum ferat. Sed
cum viderit gravia, in quibus volutabatur, incerta,
ancipitia, referet pedem, non vertet terga, sed sen-

1 inscribitur Haase ; scribitur MSS.

a See the preceding letter of Seneca,
» Frag. 133 Usener.

152

EPISTLE XXII.

which | am pondering? Read the letter of Epicurus”
which bears on this matter; it is addressed to Ido-
meneus. The writer asks him to hasten as fast as
he can, and beat a retreat before some stronger
influence comes between and takes from him the
liberty to withdraw. But he also adds that one
should attempt nothing except at the time when it
can be attempted suitably and seasonably. Then,
when the long-sought occasion comes, let him be
up and doing. Epicurus forbids’ us to doze when
we are meditating escape; he bids us hope fer a
safe release from even the hardest trials, provided
that we are not in too great a hurry before the time,
nor too dilatory when the time arrives.

Now, I suppose, you are looking for a Stoic motto
also. There is really no reason why anyone should
slander that school to you on the ground of its rash-
ness; as a matter of fact, its caution is greater than
its courage. You are perhaps expecting the sect to
utter such words as these: “It is base to flinch
under a burden. Wrestle with the duties which you
have once undertaken. No man is brave and earnest
if he avoids danger, if his spirit does not grow with
the very difficulty of his task.” Words like these will
indeed be spoken to you, if only your perseverance
shall have an object that is worth while, if only you
will not have to do or to suffer anything unworthy
of a good man; besides, a good man will not waste
himself upon mean and discreditable work or be
busy merely for the sake of being busy. Neither
will he, as you imagine, become so involved in am-
bitions schemes that he will have continually to
endure their ebb and flow. Nay, when he sees the
dangers, uncertainties, and hazards in which he was
formerly tossed about, he will withdraw,—not turn-

153

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA
9 sim recedet in tutum. Facile est autem, mi Lucili,
occupationes evadere, si occupationum pretia con-
tempseris. Illa sunt, quae nos morantur et detinent :
“Quid ergo? Tam magnas spes relinguam? Ab
ipsa messe discedam? Nudum erit latus, incomitata
lectica, atrium vacuum ?”
Ab his ergo inviti homines recedunt et mercedem
10 miseriarum amant, ipsas execrantur. Sic de ambi-
tione quomodo de amica queruntur; id est, si verum
adfectum eorum inspicias, non oderunt, sed litigant.
Execute istos, qui, quae cupiere, deplorant et de
earum rerum locuntur fuga, quibus carere non
possunt ; videbis voluntariam esse illis in eo moram,
11 quod aegre ferre ipsos et misere locuntur. Ita est,
Lucili; paucos servitus, plures servitutem tenent.
Sed si deponere illam in animo est et libertas
bona fide placuit, in hoc autem unum advocationem

petis, ut sine perpetua sollicitudine id tibi facere
contingat, quidni tota te cohors Stoicorum probatura
sit? Omnes Zenones et Chrysippi moderata, honesta,
12 tua suadebunt. Sed si propter hoc tergiversaris, ut

circumspicias, quautum feras tecum et quam magna
154

EPISTLE XXII.

ing his back to the foe, but falling back little by
little to a safe position. From business, however,
my dear Lucilius, it is easy to escape, if only you
will despise the rewards of business. We are held
back and kept from escaping by thoughts like these:
“What then? Shall I leave behind me these great
prospects? Shall I depart at the very time of
harvest? Shall I have no slaves at my side? no
retinue for my litter? no crowd in my reception-
room ?”’

Hence men leave such advantages as these with
reluctance ; they love the reward of their hardships,
but curse the hardships themselves. Men complain
about their ambitions as they complain about their
mistresses; in other words, if you penetrate their
real feelings, you will find, not hatred, but bickering.
Search the minds of those who cry down what they
have desired, who talk about escaping from things
which they are unable to do without; you will
comprehend that they are lingering of their own
free will in a situation which they declare they find
it hard and wretched to endure. It is so, my dear
Lucilius; there are a few men whom slavery holds
fast, but there are many more who hold fast to
slavery.

If, however, you intend to be rid of this slavery ;
if freedom is genuinely pleasing in your eyes; and
if you seek counsel for this one purpose,—that you
may have the good fortune to accomplish this
purpose without perpetual annoyance,— how can
the whole company of Stoic thinkers fail to approve
your course? Zeno, Chrysippus, and all their kind
will give you advice that is temperate, honourable,
and suitable. But if you keep turning round and
looking about, in order to see how much you may

155

13

14

15

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

pecunia instruas otium, numquam exitum invenies.
Nemo cum sarcinis enatat. Emerge ad meliorem
vitam propitiis dis, sed non sic, quomodo istis propitii
sunt, quibus bono ac benigno vultu mala magnifica
tribuerunt, ad hoc unum excusati, quod ista, quae
urunt, quae excruciant, optantibus data sunt.

Iam inprimebam epistulae signum; _ resolvenda
est, ut cum sollemni ad te munusculo veniat et
aliquam magnificam vocem ferat secum, et occurrit
mihi ecce nescio utrum verior an_ eloquentior.
“Cuius?”” inquis; Epicuri, adhuc enim alienas
sarcinas adsero!; ‘Nemo non ita exit e vita,
tamquam modo _intraverit.”” Quemcumque vis
occupa, adulescentem senem medium; _ invenies
aeque timidum mortis, aeque inscium vitae. Nemo
quicquam habet facti, in futurum enim nostra dis-
tulimus. Nihil me magis in ista voce delectat quam
quod exprobratur senibus infantia. “ Nemo,” inquit,
“ aliter quam qui modo? natus est exit e vita.” Falsum
est; peiores morimur quam nascimur. Nostrum
istud, non naturae vitium est. Illa nobiscum queri 3
debet et dicere: “Quid hoc est? Sine cupiditatibus
vos genui, sine timoribus, sine superstiticne, sine
perfidia ceterisque pestibus; quales intrastis exite.”
adsero Harmon ; adopto Hense ; adoro LPb.

qui modo Wolters ; quomodo MSS.
nobiscum queri Haase ; nobis conqueri MSS.

1
2

w

4 Frag. 495 Usener.

> i.¢., the old man is like the infant in this, also,-—that he
can look back upon nothing which he has finished, because
he has always put off finishing things.

156

EPISTLE XXII.

carry away with you, and how much money you may
keep to equip yourself for the life of leisure, you will
never find a way out. No man can swim ashore and
take his baggage with him. Rise to a higher life,
with the favour of the gods; but let it not be favour
of such a kind as the gods give to men when with
kind and genial faces they bestow magnificent ills,
justified in so doing by the one fact that the things
which irritate and torture have been bestowed in
answer to prayer.

I was just putting the seal upon this letter; but
it must be broken again, in order that it may go to
you with its customary contribution, bearing with it
some noble word. And lo, here is one that occurs
to my mind; I do not know whether its truth or its
nobility of utterance is the greater. “Spoken by
whom?” you ask. By Epicurus*; for I am still
appropriating other men’s belongings. The words
are: “Everyone goes out of life just as if he had
but Jately entered it.” Take anyone off his guard,
—young, old, or middle-aged ; you will find that all
are equally afraid of death, and equally ignorant of
life. No one has anything finished, because we
have kept putting off into the future all our under-
takings. No thought in the quotation given above
pleases me more than that it taunts old men with
being infants. “No one,” he says, “leaves this
world in a different manner from one who has just
been born.” That is not true; for we are worse
when we die than when we were born; but it is
our fault, and not that of Nature. Nature should
scold us, saying: “ What does thismean? I brought
you into the world without desires or fears, free from
superstition, treachery and the other curses. Go
forth as you were when you entered!”

157

16

]

lo f

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Percepit sapientiam, si quis tam securus morietur
quam nascitur ; nunc vero trepidamus, cum periculum
accessit, non animus nobis, non color constat;
lacrimae nihil profuturae cadunt. Quid est turpius
quam in ipso limine securitatis esse sollicitum ?
Causa autem haec est, quod inanes omnium bonorum
sumus, vitae iactura! laboramus. Non enim apud
nos pars eius ulla subsedit ; transmissa est et effluxit.
Nemo quam bene vivat, sed quam diu, curat, cum
omnibus possit contingere, ut bene vivant, ut diu,

nulli. VaALe.

XXITI.
Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

Putas me tibi scripturum, quam humane nobiscum
hiemps egerit, quae et remissa fuit et brevis, quam
malignum ver sit, quam praeposterum frigus, et alias
ineptias verba quaerentium? [Ego vero aliquid, quod
et mihi et tibi prodesse possit, scribam. Quid autem
id erit, nisi ut te exhorter ad bonam mentem?
Huius fundamentum quod sit quaeris? Ne gaudeas
vanis. Fundamentum hoc esse dixi; culmen est.

2 Ad summa pervenit, qui scit, quo gaudeat, qui

felicitatem suam in aliena potestate non _ posuit;
sollicitus est et incertus sui, quem spes aliqua

1 Hense inserts iactura after vitae.

158

EPISTLES XXII; XXNTI-

A man has caught the message of wisdom, if he
can die as free from care as he was at birth; but as
it is, we are all a-flutter at the approach of the dreaded
end. Our courage fails us, our cheeks blanch ;
our tears fall, though they are unavailing. But
what is baser than to fret at the very threshold of
peace? ‘The reason, however, is, that we are stripped
of all our goods, we have jettisoned our cargo of
life and are in distress; for no part of it has been
packed in the hold; it has all been heaved overboard
and has drifted away. Men do not care how. nobly
they live, but only how long, although it is within
the reach of every man to live nobly, but within no
man’s power to live long. Farewell.

KG: LON, aE re LOS WV EC rd
COMES FROM PHILOSOPHY

Do you suppose that I shall write you how kindly
the winter season has dealt with us,—a short season
and a mild one,—or what a nasty spring we are
having,—cold weather out of season,—and all the
other trivialities which people write when they are
at a loss for topics of conversation? No; I shall
communicate something which may help both you
and myself. And what shall this “something” be,
if not an exhortation to soundness of mind? Do
you ask what is the foundation of a sound mind f
It is, not to find joy in useless things. I said that
it was the foundation ; it is really the pinnacle. We
have reached the heights if we know what it is that
we find joy in and if we have not placed our happi-
ness in the control of externals. The man who is
goaded ahead by hope of anything, though it be

159

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

proritat, licet ad manum sit, licet non ex difficili
petatur, licet numaquam illum sperata deceperint.

32 Hoe ante omnia fac, mi Lucili: disce gaudere.

Existimas nunc me detrahere tibi multas volup-
tates, qui fortuita summoveo, qui spes, dulcissima
oblectamenta, devitandas existimo? Immo contra
nolo tibi umquam deesse laetitiam. Volo illam tibi
domi nasci; nascitur, si: modo intra te ipsum sit.
Ceterae hilaritates non implent pectus, frontem
remittunt, leves sunt, nisi forte tu iudicas eum
gaudere, qui ridet. Animus esse debet alacer et
fidens et super omnia erectus.

4 Mihi crede, verum gaudium res severa est. An
tu existimas quemquam soluto vultu et, ut isti deli-
cati locuntur, hilariculo mortem contemnere, pauper-
tati domum aperire, voluptates tenere sub freno, me-
ditari dolorum patientiam ? Haec qui apud se versat,
in magno gaudio est, sed parum blando. In huius
gaudii possessione esse te volo; numquam deficiet,

5 cum semel unde petatur inveneris. Levium metal-
lorum fructus in summo est; illa opulentissima sunt,
quorum in alto latet vena adsidue plenius responsura
fodienti. Haec, quibus delectatur vulgus, tenuem
habent ac perfusoriam voluptatem, et quodcumque
invecticium gaudium est, fundamento caret. Hoc, de

quo loquor, ad quod te conor perducere, solidum est

a

« Death, poverty, temptation, and suffering,
160

EPISTLE XXIII.

within reach, though it be easy of access, and though
his ambitions have never played him false, is troubled
and unsure of himself. Above all, my dear Lucilius,
make this your business: learn how to feel joy.

Do you think that I am now robbing you of many
pleasures when I try to do away with the gifts of
chance, when I counsel the avoidance of hope, the
sweetest thing that gladdens our hearts? Quite the
contrary ; I do not wish you ever to be deprived of
gladness. I would have it born in your house; and
it is born there, if only it be inside of you. Other
objects of cheer do not fill a man’s bosom; they
merely smooth his brow and are inconstant,—unless
perhaps you believe that he who laughs has joy.
The very soul must be happy and confident, lifted
above every circumstance.

Real joy, believe me, is a stern matter. Can one,
do you think, despise death with a care-free counten-
ance, or with a “blithe and gay” expression, as
our young dandies are accustomed to say? Or can
one thus open his door to poverty, or hold the curb
on his pleasures, or contemplate the endurance of
pain? He who ponders these things® in his heart
is indeed full of joy; but it is not a cheerful Joy.
It is just this joy, however, of which I would have
you become the owner; for it will never fail you
when once you have found its source. The yield
of poor mines is on the surface ; those are really rich
whose veins lurk deep, and they will make more
bountiful returns to him who delves unceasingly.
So too those baubles which delight the common
crowd afford but a thin pleasure, laid on as a coating,
and every joy that is only plated lacks a real basis.
But the joy of which I speak, that to which I am
endeavouring to lead you, is something solid, dis-

161

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

6 el quod plus pateat introrsus. Fac, oro te, Lueth
carissime, quod unum _ potest praestare felicem :
dissice et conculca ista, quae extrinsecus splendent,
quae tibi promittuntur ab alio vel ex alio, ad verum
bonum specta et de tuo gaude. Quid est autem
hoe "del'tuo. 2 “Wel *tpso\ et tui, optima parte.
Corpusculum quoque, etiam si nihil fieri sine illo
potest, magis necessariam rem crede quam magnam ;
vanas suggerit voluptates, breves, paenitendas, ac
nisi magna moderatione temperentur, in contrarium
abituras. Ita dico: in praecipiti voluptas ad dolorem
vergit, nisi modum tenuit.

Modum autem tenere in eo difficile est, quod
bonum esse credideris. Veri boni aviditas tuta est.

7 Quid sit istud, interrogas, aut unde subeat? Dicam:
ex bona conscientia, ex honestis consiliis, ex rectis
actionibus, ex contemptu fortuitorum, ex placido vitae
et continuo tenore unam prementis viam. Nam illi,
qui ex aliis propositis in alia transiliunt aut ne tran-
siliunt quidem, sed casu quodam transmittuntur,
quomodo habere quicquam certum mansurumve

8 possunt suspensi et vagi? Pauci sunt, qui consilio
se suaque disponant, ceteri eorum more, quae flumini-
bus innatant, non eunt, sed feruntur. Ex quibus

alia lenior unda detinuit ac mollius vexit, alia vehe-

« By the various sects which professed to teach how
happiness is to be obtained.

162

EPISTLE XXIII.

closing itself the more fully as you penetrate into
it. Therefore I pray you, my dearest Lucilius, do
the one thing that can render you really happy:
cast aside and trample under foot all those things
that glitter outwardly and are held out to you % by
another or as obtainable from another; look toward
the true good, and rejoice only in that which comes
from your own store. And what do I mean by
“from your own store”? I mean from your very
self, that which is the best part of you. The
frail body, also, even though we can accomplish
nothing without it, is to be regarded as necessary
rather than as important; it involves us in vain
pleasures, short-lived, and soon to be regretted,
which, unless they are reined in by extreme self-
control, will be transformed into the opposite. This
is what I mean: pleasure, unless it has been kept
within bounds, tends to rush headlong into the
abyss of sorrow.

But it is hard to keep within bounds in that which
you believe to be good. The real good may be
coveted with safety. Do you ask me what this real
good is, and whence it derives? I will tell you: it
comes from a good conscience, from honourable pur-
poses, from right actions, from contempt of the gifts
of chance, from an even and calm way of living which
treads but one path. For men who leap from one
purpose to another, or do not even leap but are carried
over by a sort of hazard,—how can such wavering
and unstable persons possess any good that is fixed
and lasting? There are only a “ao who control
themselves and their affairs by a guiding purpose ;
the rest do not proceed; they are merely swept
along, like objects afloat in a river. And of these
objects, some are held back by sluggish waters and

163

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

mentior rapuit, alia proxima ripae cursu languescente
deposuit, alia torrens impetus in mare eiecit. Ideo
constituendum est, quid velimus, et in eo perseve-
randum.

9 Hic est locus solvendi aeris alieni. Possum enim
tibi vocem Epicuri tui reddere et hanc epistulam
liberare: “ Molestum est semper vitam incohare.”
Aut si hoc modo magis sensus potest exprimi: “ Male

10 vivunt, qui semper vivere incipiunt.” “ Quare?”
inquis, desiderat enim explanationem ista vox.
Quia semper illis inperfecta vita est. Non potest
autem stare paratus ad mortem, qui modo incipit
vivere. Id agendum est, ut satis vixerimus. Nemo

11 hoc putat, qui orditur cum maxime vitam. Non est
quod existimes paucos esse hos; propemodum omnes
sunt. Quidam vero tunc incipiunt, cum desinendum
est. Si hoc iudicas mirum, adiciam quod magis
admireris: quidam ante vivere desierunt quam in-
ciperent. VALE.

XXITTIT.

Seneca LyvyciLtio svo SALVTEM

i = Sollicitum esse te scribis de iudicii eventu, quod
tibi furor inimici denuntiat, existimas me suasurum,
ut meliora tibi ipse proponas et adquiescas spei
blandae. Quid enim necesse est mala accersere,

@ Frag. 493 Usener.

» Seneca’s theme is suggested by the fear which possesses
Lucilius as to the issue of a lawsuit. This fear is taken as
typical of all fears, and Seneca devotes most of his letter to
the greatest fear of all,—fear of death.

104

EPISTLES XXIII., XXIV.

are transported gently; others are torn along by a
more violent current; some, which are nearest the
bank, are left there as the current slackens; and
others are carried out to sea by the onrush of the
stream. Therefore, we should decide what we wish,
and abide by the decision.

Now is the time for me to pay my debt. I can
give you a saying of your friend Epicurus* and thus
clear this letter of its obligation: “It is bothersome
always to be beginning life.” Or another, which
will perhaps express the meaning better: “ They live
ill who are always beginning to live.’’ You are right
in asking why; the saying certainly stands in need
of a commentary. It is because the life of such
persons is always incomplete. But a man cannot
stand prepared for the approach of death if he has
just begun to live. We must make it our aim
already to have lived long enough. No one deems
that he has done so, if he is just on the point of plan-
ning his life. You need not think that there are few
of this kind ; practically everyone is of such a stamp.
Some men, indeed, only begin to live when it is time
for them to leave off living. And if this seems sur-
prising to you, I shall add that which will surprise
you still more: Some men have left off living before
they have begun. Farewell.

XXIV. ON DESPISING DEATH ?

You write me that you are anxious about the
result of a lawsuit, with which an angry opponent
is threatening you; and you expect me to advise
you to picture to yourself a happier issue, and to
rest in the allurements of hope. Why, indeed, is

165

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

satis cito patienda cum venerint, praesumere ac
praesens tempus futuri metu perdere? Est sine
dubio stultum, quia quandoque sis futurus miser,
esse iam miserum. Sed ego alia te ad securitatem
via ducam: si vis omnem sollicitudinem exuere,
quicquid vereris ne eveniat, eventurum utique pro-
pone, et quodcumque est illud malum, tecum ipse
metire ac timorem tuum taxa; intelleges profecto
aut non magnum aut non longum esse, guod metuis.
Nec diu exempla, quibus confirmeris, colligenda sunt ;
omnis illa aetas tulit. In quamcumque partem rerum
vel civilium vel externarum memoriam miseris, occur-
rent tibi ingenia aut profectus aut inpetus magni.
Numquid accidere tibi, si damnaris, potest durius
quam ut mittaris in exilium, ut ducaris in carcerem ?
Numquid ultra quicquam ulli timendum est quam ut
uratur, quam ut pereat? Singula ista constitue et
contemptores eorum cita, qui non quaerendi, sed
eligendi sunt. Damnationem suam Rutilius sic tulit,
tamquam nihil illi molestum aliud esset quam quod
male iudicaretur. Exilium Metellus fortiter tulit,
Rutilius etiam libenter; alter, ut rediret, rei publicae
praestitit, alter reditum suum Sullae negavit, cui
nihil tune negabatur. In carcere Socrates disputavit
et exire, cum essent qui promitterent fugam, noluit

remansitque, ut duarum rerum gravissimarum homini-

166

EPISTLE XXIV.

it necessary to summon trouble,—which must be
endured soon enough when it has once arrived,-—
or to anticipate trouble and ruin the present through
fear of the future? It is indeed foolish to be
unhappy now because you may be unhappy at some
future time. But I shall conduct you to peace of
mind by another route: if you would put off all
worry, assume that what you fear may happen will
certainly happen in any event; whatever the trouble
may be, measure it in your own mind, and estimate
the amount of your fear. You will thus understand
that what you fear is either insignificant or short-
lived. And you need not spend a long time in
gathering illustrations which will strengthen you;
every epoch has produced them. Let your thoughts
travel into any era of Roman or foreign history, and
there will throng before you notable examples of
high achievement or of high endeavour.

If you lose this case, can anything more severe
happen to you than being sent into exile or led to
prison? Is there a worse fate that any man may
fear thin being burned or being killed? Name such
penalties one by one, and mention the men who have
scorned them; one does not need to hunt for them,
—it is simply a matter of selection. Sentence of
conviction was borne by Rutilius as if the injustice
of the decision were the only thing which annoyed
him. Exile was endured by Metellus with courage, by
Rutilius even with gladness; for the former consented
to come back only because his country called him ;
the latter refused to return when Sulla summoned
him,—and nobody in those days said “ No” to Sulla!
Socrates in prison discoursed, and declined to flee
when certain persons gave him the opportunity ; he
remained there, in order to free mankind from the

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5 bus metum demeret, mortis et carceris. Mucius
ignibus manum inposuit. Acerbum est uri; quanto
acerbius, si id te faciente patiaris! Vides hominem
non eruditum nec ullis praeceptis contra mortem
aut dolorem subornatum, militari tantum_ robore
instructum, poenas a se inriti conatus exigentem ;
spectator destillantis in hostili foculo dexterae stetit
nec ante removit nudis ossibus fluentem manum,
quam ignis illi ab hoste subductus est. Facere
aliquid in illis castris felicius potuit, nihil fortius.
Vide quanto acrior sit ad occupanda pericula virtus
quam crudelitas ad inroganda: facilius Porsenna
Mucio ignovit, quod voluerat occidere, quam sibi
Mucius, quod non occiderat.

§ “ Decantatae,” inquis, “in omnibus scholis fabulae
istae sunt; iam mihi, cum ad contemnendam mortem
ventum fuerit, Catonem narrabis.”” Quidni ego
narrem ultima illa nocte Platonis librum legentem
posito ad caput gladio? Duo haec in rebus extremis
instrumenta prospexerat, alterum ut vellet mori,
alterum, ut posset. Compositis ergo rebus, utcumque
componi fractae atque ultimae poterant, id agendum
existimavit, ne cui Catonem aut occidere liceret aut

7 servare contingeret. Et stricto gladio, quem usque
in illum diem ab omni caede purum servaverat:
“ Nihil,” inquit, “egisti, fortuna, omnibus conatibus
meis obstando. Non pro mea adhuc sed pro patriae

¢ The foculus in this version of the story was evidently a
movable fire, a brazier.

’ The Phaedo, on the immortality of the soul.

¢ 4.e., to save and bring back to Rome as prisoner.

168

EPISTLE XXIV.

fear of two most grievous things, death and imprison-
ment. Mucius put his hand into the fire. It is
painful to be burned; but how much more painful
to inflict such suffering upon oneself! Here was a
man of no learning, not primed to face death and
pain by any words of wisdom, and equipped only
with the courage of a soldier, who punished himself
for his fruitless daring ; he stood and watched his
own right hand falling away piecemeal on the enemy’s
brazier,* nor did he withdraw the dissolving limb,
with its uncovered bones, until his foe removed the
fire. He might have accomplished something more
successful in that camp, but never anything more
brave. See how much keener a brave man is to
lay hold of danger than a cruel man is to inflict it:
Porsenna was more ready to pardon Mucius for wish-
ing to slay him than Mucius to pardon himself for
failing to slay Porsenna!

“Qh,” say you, “those stories have been droned
to death in all the schools; pretty soon, when you
reach the topic ‘On Despising Death,’ you will be
telling me about Cato.” But why should I not tell
you about Cato, how he read Plato’s” book on that
last glorious night, with a sword laid at his pillow ?
He had provided these two requisites for his last
moments,—the first, that he might have the will to
die, and the second, that he might have the means.
So he put his affairs in order,—as well as one could
put in order that which was ruined and near its end,
—and thought that he ought to see to it that no one
should have the power to slay or the good fortune to
save “Cato. Drawing the sword,—which he had kept
unstained from all bloodshed against the final day,—
he cried: “ Fortune, you have accomplished nothing
by resisting all my endeavours. I have fought, till

169

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9

10

1]

THE. EPISTLES OF SENECA

libertate pugnavi, nec agebam tanta pertinacia, ut
liber, sed ut inter liberos viverem. Nunc quoniam
deploratae sunt res generis humani, Cato deducatur
in tutum.” Inpressit deinde mortiferum corpori
vulnus. Quo obligato a medicis cum minus sanguinis
haberet, minus virium, animi idem, iam non tantum
Caesari sed sibi iratus nudas in vulnus manus egit et
generosum illum contemptoremque omnis potentiae
spiritum non emisit, sed eiecit.

Non in hoc exempla nunc congero, ut ingenium
exerceam, sed ut te adversus id, quod maxime terri-
bile videtur, exhorter. Facilius autem exhortabor,
si ostendero non fortes tantum viros hoc momentum
efHandae animae contempsisse, sed quosdam ad alia
ignavos in hac re aequasse animum fortissimorum,
sicut illum Cn. Pompei socerum Scipionem, qui con-
trario in Africam vento relatus cum teneri navem
suam vidisset ab hostibus, ferro se transverberavit
et quaerentibus, ubi imperator esset, “ Imperator,’
inquit, “se bene habet.” Vox haec illum parem
maioribus fecit et fatalem Scipionibus in Africa
gloriam non est interrumpi passa. Multum fuit
Carthaginem vincere, sed amplius mortem. “ Im-
perator, ’ inquit, “se bene habet.’’ An aliter debebat
imperator, et quidem Catonis, mori? Non revoco te
ad historias nec ex omnibus saeculis contemptores

@ Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 n.c.,
Scipio Aemilianus, also surnamed Africanus, was by adop-
tion the grandson of Hannibal’s conqueror. He captured
Carthage in the Third Punic War, 146 n.c. The Scipio
mentioned by Seneca died in 46 B.c,

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EPISTLE XXIV.

now, for my country’s freedom, and not for my own,
I did not strive so doggedly to be free, but only
to live among the free. Now, since the affairs of
mankind are beyond hope, let Cato be withdrawn
to safety.” So saying, he inflicted a mortal wound
upon his body. After the physicians had bound it
up, Cato had less blood and less strength, but no
less courage ; angered now not only at Caesar but
also at himself, he rallied his unarmed hands against
his wound, and expelled, rather than dismissed, that
noble soul which had been so defiant of all worldly
power.

I am not now heaping up these illustrations for
the purpose of exercising my wit, but for the purpose
of encouraging you to face that which is thought to
be most terrible. And I shall encourage you all the
more easily by showing that not only resolute men
have despised that moment when the soul breathes
its last, but that certain persons, who were craven
in other respects, have equalled in this regard the
courage of the bravest. Take, for example, Scipio,
the father-in-law of Gnaeus Pompeius: he was driven
back upon the African coast by a head-wind and
saw his ship in the power of the enemy. He there-
fore pierced his body with a sword; and when they
asked where the commander was, he replied: “ All
is well with the commander.” These words brought
him up to the level of his ancestors and suffered not
the glory which fate gave to the Scipios in Africa * to
lose its continuity. It was a great deed to conquer
Carthage, but a greater deed to conquer death.
“ All is well with the commander!” Ought a
general to die otherwise, especially one of Cato’s
generals? I shall not refer you to history, or collect
examples of those men who throughout the ages have

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

mortis, qui sunt plurimi, colligo. Respice ad haec
nostra tempora, de quorum languore ac deliciis queri-
mur; omnis ordinis homines suggerent, omnis fortu-
nae, omnis aetatis, qui mala sua morte praeciderint.

Mihi crede, Lucili, adeo mors timenda non est, ut
beneficio eius nihil timendum! sit. Securus itaque
inimici minas audi. Et quamvis conscientia tibi tua
fiduciam faciat, tamen quia multa extra causam
valent, et quod aequissimum est spera, et ad id te
quod est iniquissimum conpara. Illud autem ante
omnia memento, demere rebus tumultum ac videre,
quid in quaque re sit; scies nihil esse in istis terribile
nisi ipsum timorem. Quod vides accidere pueris,
hoc nobis quoque maiusculis pueris evenit: illi quos
amant, quibus adsueverunt, cum quibus ludunt, si
personatos vident, expavescunt. Non hominibus
tantum, sed rebus persona demenda est et reddenda
facies sua.

Quid mihi gladios et ignes ostendis et turbam
carnificum circa te frementem? Tolle istam pompam,
sub qua lates et stultos territas! Mors es,? quam
nuper servus meus, quam ancilla contempsit. Quid
tu rursus mihi flagella et eculeos magno apparatu
explicas? Quid singulis articulis singula machina-
menta, quibus extorqueantur, aptata et mille alia

1 timendum p; anteferendum L; anteferendum timendum
Pb ; ante (a te Lipsius) verendum Gertz.
2 es Lipsius ; est MSS.

2 He refers to the lawsuit, as again in § 16.
> An apostrophe to Death and Pain.

172

EPISTLE XXIV.

despised death; for they are very many. Consider
these times of ours, whose enervation and over-
refinement call forth our complaints; they never-
theless will include men of every rank, of every lot
in life, and of every age, who have cut short their
misfortunes by death.

Believe me, Lucilius; death is so little to be
feared that through its good offices nothing is to
be feared. Therefore, when your enemy threatens,
listen unconcernedly. Although your conscience
makes you confident, yet, since many things have
weight which are outside your case,” both hope for
that which is utterly just, and prepare yourselt
against that which is utterly unjust. Remember,
however, before all else, to strip things of all that
disturbs and confuses, and to see what each is at
bottom ; you will then comprehend that they contain
nothing fearful except the actual fear. What you
see happening to boys happens also to ourselves,
who are only slightly bigger boys: when those
whom they love, with whom they daily associate,
with whom they play, appear with masks on, the
boys are frightened out of their wits. We should
strip the mask, not only from men, but from things,
and restore to each object its own aspect.

“Why dost thou ® hold up before my eyes swords,
fires, and a throng of executioners raging about
thee? Take away all that vain show, behind
which thou lurkest and searest fools! Ah! thou art
naught but Death, whom only yesterday a man-
servant of mine and a maid-servant did despise!
Why dost thou again unfold and spread before me,
with all that great display, the whip and the rack?
Why are those engines of torture made ready, one
for each several member of the body, and al] the

173

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16

IN)

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

instrumenta excarnificandi particulatim hominis ?
Pone ista, quae nos obstupefaciunt. [ube contici-
scere gemitus et exclamationes et vocum inter lacera-
tionem elisarum acerbitatem! Nempe dolor es,! quem
podagricus ille contemnit, quem stomachicus ille in
ipsis deliciis perfert, quem in puerperio puella per-
petitur. Levis es,! si ferre possum, brevis es,! si ferre
non possum.

Haec in animo voluta, quae saepe audisti, saepe
dixisti. Sed an vere audieris, an vere dixeris, effectu
proba. Hoc enim turpissimum est, quod nobis obici
solet, verba nos philosophiae, non opera tractare.

Quid, tu nunc primum tibi mortem inminere scisti,
nunc exilium, nunc dolorem? In haec natus es.
Quicquid fieri potest, quasi futurum cogitemus.
Quod facere te moneo, scio certe te fecisse ; nunc
admoneo, ut animum tuum non mergas in istam
sollicitudinem. Hebetabitur enim et minus habebit
vigoris, cum exurgendum erit. Abduc illum a privata
causa ad publicam. Dic mortale tibi et fragile cor-
pusculum esse, cui non ex iniuria tantum aut ex
potentioris? viribus denuntiabitur dolor. Ipsae
voluptates in tormenta vertuntur, epulae cruditatem
adferunt, ebrietates nervorum torporem tremorem-
que, libidines pedum, manuum, articulorum omnium
depravationes.

Pauper fiam; inter plures ero. Exul fiam; ibi

1 es Gertz; est MSS.
2 potentioris inferior MSS. ; the others read potentivribus,

174

EPISTLE XXIV.

other innumerable machines for tearing a man apart
piecemeal? Away with all such stuff, which makes
us numb with terror! And thou, silence the groans,
the cries, and the bitter shrieks ground out of the
victim as he is torn on the rack! Forsooth thou
are naught but Pain, scorned by yonder gout-ridden
wretch, endured by yonder dyspeptic in the midst
of his dainties, borne bravely by the girl in travail.
Slight thou art, if I can bear thee; short thou art
if I cannot bear thee!”

Ponder these words which you have often heard
and often uttered. Moreover, prove by the result
whether that which you have heard and uttered is
true. For there is a very disgraceful charge often
brought against our school,—that we deal with the
words, and not with the deeds, of philosophy.

What, have you only at this moment learned that
death is hanging over your head, at this moment
exile, at this moment grief? You were born to
these perils. Let us think of everything that can
happen as something which will happen. I know
that you have really done what I advise you to do;
I now warn you not to drown your soul in these
petty anxieties of yours; if you do, the soul will be
dulled and will have too little vigour left when the
time comes for it to arise. Remove the mind from
this case of yours to the case of men in general.
Say to yourself that our petty bodies are mortal and
frail; pain can reach them from other sources than
from wrong or the might of the stronger. Our
pleasures themselves become torments; banquets
bring indigestion, carousals paralysis of the muscles
and palsy, sensual habits affect the feet, the hands,
and every joint of the body.

I may become a poor man; I shall then be one

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

me natum putabo, quo mittar. Alligabor; quid
enim? Nunc solutus sum? Ad hoc me natura
grave corporis mei pondus adstrinxit. Moriar; hoc
dicis, desinam aegrotare posse, desinam alligari posse,

18 desinam mori posse. Non sum tam ineptus, ut
Epicuream cantilenam hoc loco persequar et dicam
vanos esse inferorum metus, nec Ixionem rota volvi
nec saxum umeris Sisyphi trudi in adversum nec
ullius viscera et renasci posse cotidie et carpi; nemo
tam puer est, ut Cerberum timeat et tenebras et
larvalem habitum nudis ossibus cohaerentium. Mors
nos aut consumit aut exuit. Emissis meliora restant
onere detracto, consumptis nihil restat, bona pariter
malaque submota sunt.

19 Permitte mihi hoc loco referre versum tuum, si
prius admonuero, ut te iudices non aliis scripsisse
ista, sed etiam tibi. Turpe est aliud loqui, aliud
sentire ; quanto turpius aliud scribere, aliud sentire!
Memini te illum locum aliquando tractasse, non re-
pente nos in mortem incidere, sed minutatim pro-—

20 cedere; cotidie morimur. Cotidie enim demitur
aliqua pars vitae, et tune quoque, cum crescimus,
vita decrescit. Infantiam amisimus, deinde pueritiam,
deinde adulescentiam. Usque ad hesternum, quic-
quid transit temporis, perit; hunc ipsum, quem

« As mythology describes the treatment of Tityus or of
Prometheus.

176

EPISTLE XXIV.

among many. I may be exiled; I shall then regard
myself as born in the place to which I shall be sent.
They may put me in chains. What then? Am I
free from bonds now? Behold this clogging burden
of a body, to which nature has fettered me! “I
shall die,” you say; you mean to say “I shall cease
to run the risk of sickness; I shall cease to run the
risk of imprisonment; I shall cease to run the risk
of death.”” I am not so foolish as to go through at
this juncture the arguments which Epicurus harps
upon, and say that the terrors of the world below are
idle,—that Ixion does not whirl round on his wheel,
that Sisyphus does not shoulder his stone uphill,
that a man’s entrails cannot be restored and de-
voured every day;° no one is so childish as to fear
Cerberus, or the shadows, or the spectral garb of
those who are held together by naught but their
unfleshed bones. Death either annihilates us or
strips us bare. If we are then released, there re-
mains the better part, after the burden has been
withdrawn; if we are annihilated, nothing remains ;
good and bad are alike removed.

Allow me at this point to quote a verse of yours,
first suggesting that, when you wrote it, you meant
it for yourself no less than for others. It is ignoble
to say one thing and mean another; and how much
more ignoble to write one thing and mean another!
I remember one day you were handling the well-
known commonplace,—that we do not suddenly fall
on death, but advance towards it by slight degrees ;
we die every day. For every day a little of our life
is taken from us; even when we are growing, our
life is on the wane. We lose our childhood, then
our boyhood, and then our youth. Counting even
yesterday, all past time is lost time; the very day

177

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22

23

24

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

agimus, diem cum morte dividimus. Quemadmodum
clepsydram non extremum stillicidium exhaurit, sed
quicquid ante defluxit, sic ultima hora, qua esse
desinimus, non sola mortem facit, sed sola con-
summat; tunc ad illam pervenimus, sed diu venimus.
Haec cum descripsisses quo soles ore, semper quidem
magnus, numquam tamen acrior quam ubi veritati
commodas verba, dixisti :

Mors non una! venit, sed quae rapit, ultima mors est.

Malo te legas quam epistulam meam. Apparebit
enim tibi hanc, quam timemus, mortem extremam
esse, non solam.

Video quo spectes; quaeris, quid huic epistulae
infulserim, quod dictum alicuius animosum, quod
praeceptum utile. Ex hac ipsa materia, quae in
manibus fuit, mittetur aliquid. Obiurgat Epicurus
non minus eos, qui mortem concupiscunt, quam eos,
qui timent, et ait: “ Ridiculum est currere ad mortem
taedio vitae, cum genere vitae, ut currendum ad
mortem esset, effeceris.”’ Item aliolocodicit: “ Quid
tam ridiculum quam adpetere mortem, cum vitam
inquietam tibi feceris metu mortis?’’ His adicias
et illud eiusdem notae licet, tantam hominum inpru-
dentiam esse, immo dementiam, ut quidam timore
mortis cogantur ad mortem.

Quicquid horum tractaveris, confirmabis animum

1 wna Muretus ; ultima MSS.

@ Frag. 496 Usener. > Frag. 498 Usener,
¢ Frag. 497 Usener.

178

EPISTLE XXIV,

which we are now spending is shared between our-
selves and death. It is not the last drop that
empties the water-clock, but all that which previ-
ously has flowed out; similarly, the final hour when
we cease to exist does not of itself bring death; it
merely of itself completes the death-process. We
reach death at that moment, but we have been a
long time on the way. In describing this situation,
you said in your customary style (for you are always
impressive, but never more pungent than when you
are putting the truth in appropriate words) :—

Not single is the death which comes ; the death
Which takes us off is but the last of all. ;

I prefer that you should read your own words rather
than my letter; for then it will be clear to you
that this death, of which we are afraid, is the last
but not the only death.

I see what you are looking for; you are asking
what I have packed into my letter, what inspiriting
saying from some master-mind, what useful precept.
So I shall send you something dealing with this very
subject which has been under discussion. Epicurus *
upbraids those who crave, as much as those who
shrink from, death: “It is absurd,’ he says, “ to run
towards death because you are tired of life, when it
is your manner of life that has made you run towards
death.” And in another passage: “What is so
absurd as to seek death, when it is through fear of
death that you have robbed your life of peace?”
And you may add a third statement, of the same
stamp :¢ “ Men are so thoughtless, nay, so mad, that
some, through fear of death, force themselves to ao

Whichever of these ideas you ponder, you will
strengthen your mind for the endurance alike of

179

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

vel ad mortis vel ad vitae patientiam. In utrumque!
enim monendi ac firmandi sumus, et ne nimis amenius
vitam et ne nimis oderimus. Etiam cum ratio suadet
finire se,? non temere nec cum procursu capiendus est
inpetus. Vir fortis ac sapiens non fugere debet e
vita, sed exire. Et ante omnia ille quoque vitetur
affectus, qui multos occupavit, libido moriendi. Est
enim, mi Lucili, ut ad alia, sic etiam ad moriendum
inconsulta animi inclinatio, quae saepe generosos
atque acerrimae indolis viros corripit, saepe ignavos
iacentesque ; illi contemnunt vitam, hi gravantur.
Quosdam subit eadem faciendi videndique satietas
et vitae non odium sed fastidium, in quod prolabimur
ipsa inpellente philosophia, dum dicimus : “ Quousque
eadem? Nempe expergiscar dormiam, esuriam
fastidiam,? algebo aestuabo. Nullius rei finis est,
sed in orbem nexa sunt omnia, fugiunt ac secuntur.
Diem nox premit, dies noctem, aestas in autumnum
desinit, autumno hiemps instat, quae vere conpescitur;
omnia sic transeunt ut revertantur. Nihil novi facio,
nihil novi video; fit aliquando et huius rei nausia.”’
Multi sunt, qui non acerbum iudicent vivere, sed

supervacuum. VALE.
1 aut in utrumque pLPb; Hense rejects aut,

2 se Madvig ; sed MSS.
8 Hense adds fastidiam.

180

EPISTLE XXIV.

death and of life. For we need to be warned and
strengthened in both directions,—not to love or to
hate life overmuch; even when reason advises us to
make an end of it, the impulse is not to be adopted
without reflection or at headlong speed. The brave
and wise man should not beat a hasty retreat from
life ; he should make a becoming exit. And above
all, he should avoid the weakness which has taken
possession of so many,—the lust for death. For just
as there is an unreflecting tendency of the mind
towards other things, so, my dear Lucilius, there is
an unreflecting tendency towards death; this often
seizes upon the noblest and most spirited men, as
well as upon the craven and the abject. The former
despise life ; the latter find it irksome.

Others also are moved by a satiety of doing and
seeing the same things, and not so much by a hatred
of life as because they are cloyed with it. We slip
into this condition, while philosophy itself pushes
us on, and we say: “How long must I endure the
same things? Shall I continue to wake and sleep,
be hungry and be cloyed, shiver and perspire? There
is an end to nothing; all things are connected in a
sort of circle; they flee and they are pursued. Night
is close at the heels of day, day at the heels of night;
summer ends in autumn, winter rushes after autumn,
and winter softens into spring; all nature in this
way passes, only to return. I do nothing new; I see
nothing new; sooner or later one sickens of this,
also.” There are many who think that living is not
painful, but superfluous. Farewell.

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XXV.
Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Quod ad duos amicos nostros pertinet, diversa via
eundum est; alterius enim vitia emendanda, alterius
frangenda sunt. Utar libertate tota. Non amo
illum, nisi offendo. “Quid ergo?” inquis, “ quadra-
genarium pupillum cogitas sub tutela tua continere ?
Respice aetatem eius iam duram et intractabilem.

2 Non potest reformari; tenera finguntur.”’ An pro-
fecturus sim nescio. Malo successum mihi quam
fidem deesse. Nec desperaveris etiam diutinos aegros
posse sanari, si contra intemperantiam steteris, si
multa invitos et facere coegeris et pati. Ne de
altero quidem satis fiduciae habeo, excepto eo, quod
adhue peccare erubescit. Nutriendus est hic pudor,
qui quamdiu in animo eius duraverit, aliquis erit
bonae spei locus. Cum hoc veterano parcius agen-

3 dum puto, ne in desperationem sui veniat. Nec
ullum tempus adgrediendi fuit melius quam hoc,
dum interquiescit, dum emendato similis est. Allis
haec intermissio eius inposuit; mihi verba non dat.
Exspecto cum magno faenore vitia reditura, quae
nunc scio cessare, non deesse. Inpendam huic rei
dies et utrum possit aliquid agi an non possit,
experiar.

« The second friend, whose faults are to be crushed out.
He proves to be some forty years old; the other is a youth.

182

EPISTLE XXV.

XXV. ON REFORMATION

With regard to these two friends of ours, we
must proceed along different lines ; the faults of the
one are to be corrected, the other's are to be crushed
out. I shall take every liberty; for I do not love
this one* if I am unwilling to hurt his feelings.
“What,” you say, “do you expect to keep a forty-
year-old ward under your tutelage? Consider his
age, how hardened it now is, and past handling!
Such a man cannot be re-shaped; only young minds
are moulded.” I do not know whether I shall make
progress ; but I should prefer to lack success rather
than to lack faith. You need not despair of curing
sick men even when the disease is chronic, if only
you hold out against excess and force them to do
and submit to many things against their will. As
regards our other friend I am not sufficiently con-
fident, either, except for the fact that he still has
sense of shame enough to blush for his sins. This
modesty should be fostered ; so long as it endures in
his soul, there is some room for hope. But as for
this veteran of yours, I think we should deal more
carefully with him, that he may not become desperate
about himself. There is no better time to approach
him than now, when he has an interval of rest and
seems like one who has corrected his faults. Others
have been cheated by this interval of virtue on his
part, but he does not cheat me. I feel sure that
these faults will return, as it were. with compound
interest, for just now, I am certain, they are in
abeyance but not absent. I shall devote some time
to the matter, and try to see whether or not some-
thing can be done.

VOL. I G2 183

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

4 Tu nobis te, ut facis, fortem praesta et sarcinas
contrahe. Nihil ex his, quae habemus, necessarium
est. Ad legem naturae revertamur ; divitiae paratae
sunt. Aut gratuitum est, quo egemus, aut vile ;
panem et aquam natura desiderat. Nemo ad haec
pauper est, intra quae quisquis desiderium suum clusit,
cum ipso love de felicitate contendat, ut ait Epicurus,

5 cuius aliquam vocem huic epistulae involvam. “Sic
fac,’ inquit, “omnia, tamquam spectet Epicurus.”
Prodest sine dubio custodem sibi inposuisse et habere,
quem respicias, quem interesse cogitationibus tuis
iudices. Hoc quidem longe magnificentius est, sic
vivere tamquam sub alicuius boni viri ac semper
praesentis oculis, sed ego etiam hoc contentus sum,
ut sic facias, quaecumque facies, tamquam spectet

6 aliquis; omnia nobis mala solitudo persuadet. Cum
iam profeceris tantum, ut sit tibi etiam tui reverentia,
licebit dimittas paedagogum; interim aliquorum te
auctoritate custodi, aut Cato ille sit aut Scipio aut
Laelius aut talis, cuius! interventu perditi quoque
homines vitia supprimerent, dum te efficis eum, cum
quo peccare non audeas. Cum hoc effeceris, et aliqua
coeperit apud te tui esse dignatio, incipiam tibi per-
mittere, quod idem suadet Epicurus: “ Tunc prae-
cipue in te ipse secede, cum esse cogeris in turba.”’

1 aut talis, cuius Disselbeck and Buecheler; aut alicuius
(aut cuius) MSS.

¢ Frag. 211 Usener. > Frag. 209 Usener.
184

EPISTLE XXV.

But do you yourself, as indeed you are doing,
show me that you are stout-hearted; lighten your
baggage for the march. None of our possessions is
essential. Let us return to the law of nature; for
then riches are laid up for us. The things which we
actually need are free for all, or else cheap; nature
craves only bread and water. No one is poor accord-
ing to this standard; when a man has limited his
desires within these bounds, he can challenge the
happiness of Jove himself, as Epicurus says. I must
insert in this letter one or two more of his sayings :*
“Do everything as if Epicurus were watching you.”
There is no real doubt that it is good for one to have
appointed a guardian over oneself, and to have some-
one whom you may look up to, someone whom you
may regard as a witness of your thoughts. It is, in-
deed, nobler by far to live as you would live under
the eyes of some good man, always at your side; but
nevertheless I am content if you only act, in what-
ever you do, as you would act if anyone at all were
looking on; because solitude prompts us to all kinds
of evil. And when you have progressed so far that
you have also respect for yourself, you may send
away your attendant; but until then, set as a guard
over yourself the authority of some man, whether
your choice be the great Cato, orScipio, or Laelius,—or
any man in whose presence even abandoned wretches
would check their bad impulses. Meantime, you are
engaged in making of yourself the sort of person in
whose company you would not dare to sin. When
this aim has been accomplished and you begin to hold
yourself in some esteem, I shall gradually allow you
to do what Epicurus, in another passage, suggests :?
“The time when you should most of all withdraw into
yourself is when you are forced to be in a crowd.”

185

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

7 Dissimilem te fieri multis oportet. Dum tibi tutum
non est} ad te recedere, circumspice singulos ; nemo
est, cui non satius sit cum quolibet esse quam secum.
“Tune praecipue in te ipse secede, cum esse cogeris
in turba’’; si bonus vir, si quietus, si temperans.
Alioquin in turbam tibi a te recedendum est; istic
malo viro propius es. VALE.

XXVI.

Seneca LycILIO svo SALVTEM

1 Modo dicebam tibi, in conspectu esse me senec-
tutis; iam vereor, ne senectutem post me reliquerim.
Aliud iam his annis, certe huic corpori, vocabulum
convenit, quoniam quidem senectus lassae aetatis,
non fractae, nomen est; inter decrepitos me numera
et extrema tangentis.

2 Gratias tamen mihi apud te ago; non sentio in
animo aetatis iniuriam, cum sentiam in _ corpore.
Tantum vitia et vitiorum ministeria senuerunt ; viget
animus et gaudet non multum sibi esse cum corpore.
Magnam partem oneris sui posuit. Exultat et mihi
facit controversiam de senectute. Hunc ait esse

3 florem suum. Credamus illi; bono suo utatur. Ire
in cogitationem iubet et dispicere, quid ex hac

1 est Muretus; sit MSS.

@ Because ‘‘ solitude prompts to evil,” § 5.
> See the twelfth letter. Seneca was by this time at least
sixty-five years old, and probably older.

186

EPISTLES XXV., XXVI.

You ought to make yourself of a different stamp
from the multitude. Therefore, while it is not yet
safe to withdraw into solitude,* seek out certain indi-
viduals ; for everyone is better off in the company of
somebody or other,—no matter who,—than in his
own company alone. “The time when you should
most of all withdraw into yourself is when you are
forced to be ina crowd.” Yes, provided that you are
a good, tranquil, and self-restrained man ; otherwise,
you had better withdraw into a crowd in order to
get away from your self. Alone, you are too close
toarascal. Farewell.

XXVI. ON OLD AGE AND DEATH

I was just lately telling you that I was within
sight of old age.? I am now afraid that I have left
old age behind me. For some other word would now
apply to my years, or at any rate to my body ; since
old age means a time of life that is weary rather
than crushed. You may rate me in the worn-out
class,—of those who are nearing the end.

Nevertheless, I offer thanks to myself, with you
as witness; for I feel that age has done no damage
to my mind, though I feel its effects on my constitu-
tion. Only my vices, and the outward aids to these
vices, have reached senility; my mind is strong and
rejoices that it has but slight connexion with the
body. It has laid aside the greater part of its load.
It is alert; it takes issue with me on the subject of
old age; it declares that old age is its time of bloom.
Let me take it at its word, and let it make the most
of the advantages it possesses. The mind bids me
do some thinking and consider how much of this

187

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tranquillitate ac modestia morum sapientiae debeam,
quid aetati, et diligenter excutere, quae non possim
facere, quae nolim {prodesse habiturus ad qui si
nolim quidquid non posse me gaudeoj.!_ Quae enim
querella est, quod incommodum, si quidquid debebat ?

4 desinere, defecit? “Incommodum summum est,”
inquis, “minui et deperire et, ut proprie dicam,
liquescere. Non enim subito inpulsi ac_prostrati
sumus; carpimur. Singuli dies aliquid subtrahunt
viribus.”’

Ecquis? exitus est melior quam in finem suum
natura solvente dilabi? Non quia aliquid mali est 4
ictus et e vita repentinus excessus, sed quia lenis
haec est via, subduci. Ego certe, velut adpropinquet
experimentum et ille laturus sententiam de omnibus
annis meis dies venerit, ita me observo et adloquor:

5 “ Nihil est,” inquam, “adhuc, quod aut rebus aut
verbis exhibuimus. Levia sunt ista et fallacia pig-
nora animi multisque involuta lenociniis ; quid pro-
fecerim, morti crediturus sum. Non timide itaque
conponor ad illum diem, quo remotis strophis ac
fucis de me iudicaturus sum, utrum loquar fortia an
sentiam, numquid simulatio fuerit et mimus, quic-
quid contra fortunam iactavi verborum contumacium.

6 Remove existimationem hominum ; dubia semper est
et in partem utramque dividitur. Remove studia

1 This passage is hopelessly corrupt. The course of the
argument requires something like this: For it is just as much
to my advantage not to be able to do what I do not want to
do, as it is to be able to do whatever gives me pleasure.

2 debebat Fickert and Madvig ; debeat MSS.

3 ecquis Madvig ; hec quis and et quis MSS.

4 aliquid mali ictus pL; est, found in a few less im-
portant MSS., is inserted by Hense,

188

EPISTLE XXVI.

peace of spirit and moderation of character I owe to
wisdom and how much to my time of life; it bids me
distinguish carefully what I cannot de and what I do
not want to do. . . . For why should one complain
or regard it as a disadvantage, if powers which ought
to come to an end have failed? “ But,’ you say, “ it
is the greatest possible disadvantage to be worn out
and to die off, or rather, if I may speak literally, to
melt away! For we are not suddenly smitten and
laid low; we are worn away, and every day reduces
our powers to a certain extent.”’

But is there any better end to it all than to glide
off to one’s proper haven, when nature slips the
cable? Not that there is anything painful in a shock
and a sudden departure from existence; it is merely
because this other way of departure is easy,—a
gradual withdrawal. I, at any rate, as if the test
were at hand and the day were come which is to
pronounce its decision concerning all the years of my
life, watch over myself and commune thus with
myself: “The showing which we have made up to
the present time, in word or deed, counts for nothing.
All this is but a trifling and deceitful pledge of our
spirit, and is wrapped in much charlatanism. I shall
leave it to Death to determine what progress I have
made. Therefore with no faint heart I am making
ready for the day when, putting aside all stage
artifice and actor’s rouge, I am to pass judgment
upon myself,— whether I am merely declaiming
brave sentiments, or whether I really feel them;
whether all the bold threats I have uttered against
fortune are a pretence and a farce. Put aside the
opinion of the world; it is always wavering and
always takes both sides. Put aside the studies
which you have pursued throughout your life;

189

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tota vita tractata; mors de te pronuntiatura est. Ita
dico: disputationes et litterata conloquia et ex prae-
ceptis sapientium verba collecta et eruditus sermo
non ostendunt verum robur animi. Est enim oratio
etiam timidissimis audax. Quid egeris, tune ap-
parebit, cum animam ages. Accipio condicionem,

7 non reformido iudicium.” Haec mecum loquor, sed
tecum quoque me locutum puta. I[uvenior es; quid
refert? Non dinumerantur anni. Incertum est, quo
loco te mors expectet; itaque tu illam omni loco
expecta.

8 Desinere iam volebam et manus spectabat ad
clausulam ; sed conficienda sunt sacra et huic epi-
stulae viaticum dandum est. Puta me non dicere,
unde sumpturus sum mutuum: scis cuius arca utar.
Expecta me pusillum, et de domo fiet numeratio ;
interim commodabit Epicurus, qui ait: ‘ Meditare
mortem” vel si commodius sit “ transire ad deos!.”

9 Hic patet sensus: egregia res est mortem condiscere.
Supervacuum forsitan putas id discere, quod semel
utendum est. Hoc est ipsum, quare meditari de-
beamus; semper discendum est, quod an sciamus,

10 experiri non possumus. ‘ Meditare mortem”; qui
hoc dicit, meditari libertatem iubet. Qui mori
didicit, servire dedidicit; supra omnem potentiam
est, certe extra omnem. Quid ad illum carcer et
custodia et claustra? Liberum ostium habet. Una

1 ad deos Rossbach ; at (ad) nos MSS.

¢ t.e., the money will be brought from home,—the saying
will be one of Seneca’s own.
> Epicurus, Frag. 205 Usener.

190

EPISTLE XXVI.

Death will deliver the final judgment in your case.
This is what I mean: your debates and learned talks,
your maxims gathered from the teachings of the
wise, your cultured conversation,—all these afford no
proof of the real strength of your soul. Even the
most timid man can deliver a bold speech. What
you have done in the past will be manifest only at
the time when you draw your last breath. I accept
the terms; I do not shrink from the decision.”
This is what I say to myself, but I would have you
think that I have said it to you also. You are
younger; but what does that matter? There is no
fixed count of our years. You do not know where
death awaits you; so be ready for it everywhere.

I was just intending to stop, and my hand was
making ready for the closing sentence; but the
rites are still to be performed and the travelling
money for the letter disbursed. And just assume
that I am not telling where I intend to borrow the
necessary sum; you know upon whose coffers I
depend. Wait for me but a moment, and I will pay
you from my own account;* meanwhile, Epicurus
will oblige me with these words :? “Think on death,”
or rather, if you prefer the phrase, on “ migration to
heaven.”’ The meaning is clear,—that it is a wonder-
ful thing to learn thoroughly how to die. You may
deem it superfluous to learn a text that can be used
only once; but that is just the reason why we ought
to think on a thing. When we can never prove
whether we really know a thing, we must always
be learning it. ‘Think on death.” In saying this,
he bids us think on freedom. He who has learned to
die has unlearned slavery ; he is above any external
power, or, at any rate, he is beyond it. What terrors
have prisons and bonds and bars for him? His way

191

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

est catena, quae nos alligatos tenet, amor vitae, qui
ut non est abiciendus, ita minuendus est, ut si quando
res exiget, nihil nos detineat nec inpediat, quo minus
parati simus, quod quandoque faciendum est, statim
facere. VALE.

RXV TI
Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

“Tu me,” inquis, “mones? Iam enim te ipse
monuisti, iam correxisti? Ideo aliorum emendationi
vacas?”’ Non sum tam inprobus, ut curationes aeger
obeam, sed tamquam in eodem valitudinario iaceam,
de communi tecum malo conloquor et remedia com-
munico. Sic itaque me audi, tamquam mecum loquar.
In secretum te meum admitto et te adhibito mecum
exigo. Clamo mihi ipse: “ Numera annos tuos, et
pudebit! eadem velle, quae volueras puer, eadem
parare. Hoc denique tibi circa mortis diem praesta :
moriantur ante te vitia. Dimitte istas voluptates
turbidas, magno luendas?; non venturae tantum, sed
praeteritae nocent. Quemadmodum scelera etiam si
non sint deprehensa cum fierent, sollicitudo non cum
ipsis abit; ita inprobarum voluptatum etiam post
ipsas paenitentia est. Non sunt solidae, non sunt

1 After pudebit Thomas and Hense? insert fe.

2 luendazs Pincianus; levandas or leundas or leuaturas
MSS.

192

EPISTLES XXVI., XXVII.

out is clear. There is only one chain which binds us
to life, and that is the love of life. The chain may
not be cast off, but it may be rubbed away, so that,
when necessity shall demand, nothing may retard
or hinder us from being ready to do at once that
which at some time we are bound to do. Farewell.

XXVII. ON THE GOOD WHICH ABIDES

“What,” say you, “are you giving me advice?
Indeed, have you already advised yourself, already
corrected your own faults? Is this the reason why
you have leisure to reform other men?” No, I am
not so shameless as to undertake to cure my fellow-
men when I am ill myself. I am, however, discussing
with you troubles which concern us both, and sharing
the remedy with you, just as if we were lying ill in
the same hospital. Listen to me, therefore, as you
would if I were talking to myself. I am admitting
you to my inmost thoughts, and am having it out with
myself, merely making use of you as my pretext.
I keep crying out to myself: “Count your years,
and you will be ashamed to desire and pursue the
same things you desired in your boyhood days. Of
this one thing make sure against your dying day,—
let your faults die before you die. Away with those
disordered pleasures, which must be dearly paid for ;
it is not only those which are to come that harm me,
but also those which have come and gone. Just as
crimes, even if they have not been detected when
they were committed, do not allow anxiety to end
with them; so with guilty pleasures, regret remains
even after the pleasures are over. They are not
substantial, they are not trustworthy; even if they

193

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

3 fideles; etiam si non nocent, fugiunt. Aliquod
potius bonum mansurum circumspice. Nullum autem
est, nisi quod animus ex se sibi invenit. Sola virtus
praestat gaudium perpetuum, securum ; etiam si quid
obstat, nubium modo intervenit, quae infra feruntur
nec umquam diem vincunt.”

4 Quando ad hoc gaudium pervenire continget ? Non
quidem cessatur adhuc, sed festinetur.1 Multum
restat operis, in quod ipse necesse est vigiliam, ipse
laborem tuum inpendas, si effici cupis. Delegationem

5 res ista non recipit. Aliud litterarum genus adiu-
torium admittit. Calvisius Sabinus memoria nostra
fuit dives. Et patrimonium habebat libertini et in-
genium; numquam vidi hominem beatum indecentius.
Huic memoria tam mala erat, ut illi nomen modo
Vlixis excideret, modo Achillis, modo Priami, quos
tam bene? quam paedagogos nostros novimus. Nemo
vetulus nomenclator, qui nomina non reddit, sed
inponit, tam perperam tribus quam ille Troianos et
Achivos persalutabat. Nihilominus eruditus volebat

6 videri. Hane itaque conpendiariam excogitavit:
magna summa emit servos, unum, qui Homerum
teneret, alterum, qui Hesiodum; novem praeterea
lyricis singulos adsignavit. Magno emisse illum non
est quod mireris; non invenerat, faciendos locavit.
Postquam haec familia illi conparata est, coepit con-

1 festinetur Gronovius ; ens MSS.
2 noverat after bene bracketed by Hense, after Gronovius.

@ i.e., ordinary studies, or literature, as contrasted with
philosophy.

> Compare with the following the vulgarities of Trimalchio
in the Satire of Petronius, and the bad taste of Nasidienus
in Horace (Sat. ii. 8).

¢ At the salutatio, or morning call. The position of
nomenclator, ‘* caller-of-names,” was originally devoted more
strictly to political purposes. Here it is primarily social.
194

EPISTLE XXVII.

do not harm us, they are fleeting. Cast about rather
for some good which will abide. But there can be
no such good except as the soul discovers it for
itself within itself. Virtue alone affords everlasting
and peace-giving joy; even if some obstacle arise, it
is but like an intervening cloud, which floats beneath
the sun but never prevails against it.”

When will it be your lot to attain this joy? Thus
far, you have indeed not been sluggish, but you must
quicken your pace. Much toil remains ; to confront
it, you must yourself lavish all your waking hours,
and all your efforts, if you wish the result to be
accomplished. This matter cannot be delegated to
someone else. The other kind of literary activity *
admits of outside assistance. Within our own time
there was a certain rich man named Calvisius Sabinus ;
he had the bank-account and the brains of a freed-
man. J never saw a man whose good fortune was a
greater offence against propriety. His memory was
so faulty that he would sometimes forget the name
of Ulysses, or Achilles, or Priam,—names which we
know as well as we know those of our own attendants.
No major-domo in his dotage, who cannot give men
their right names, but is compelled to invent names
for them,—no such man, I say, calls off the names¢ of
his master’s tribesmen so atrociously as Sabinus used
to call off the Trojan and Achaean heroes. But none
the less did he desire to appear learned. So he
devised this short cut to learning: he paid fabulous
prices for slaves,—one to know Homer by heart
and another to know Hesiod; he also delegated a
special slave to each of the nine lyric poets. You
need not wonder that he paid high prices for these
slaves; if he did not find them ready to hand he had
them made to order. After collecting this retinue,

195

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

vivas suos inquietare. Habebat ad pedes hos, a
quibus subinde cum peteret versus, quos referret,

7 saepe in medio verbo excidebat. Suasit illi Satellius
Quadratus, stultorum divitum adrosor, et quod sequi-
tur, adrisor, et quod duobus his adiunctum est, derisor,
ut grammaticos haberet analectas. Cum dixisset
Sabinus centenis milibus sibi constare singulos servos ;
“ Minoris,” inquit, “totidem scrinia emisses.’”’ Ille
tamen in ea opinione erat, ut putaret se scire, quod

8 quisquam in domo sua sciret. Idem Satellius illum
hortari coepit, ut luctaretur, hominem aegrum, palli-
dum, gracilem. Cum Sabinus respondisset: “ Et
quomodo possum? Vix vivo,” “Noli, obsecro te,”
inquit, ‘‘istuc dicere; non vides, quam multos servos
valentissimos habeas?’’ Bona mens nec commoda-
tur nec emitur. Et puto, si venalis esset, non
haberet emptorem. At mala cotidie emitur.

9 Sed accipe iam quod debeo et vale. “ Divitiae
sunt ad legem naturae conposita paupertas.” Hoc
saepe dicit Epicurus aliter atque aliter ; sed numquam
nimis dicitur, quod numquam satis discitur. Quibus-
dam remedia monstranda, quibusdam inculcanda sunt.
VALE.

@ i.e, all the ideas that dropped out of the head of
Sabinus. The slave who picked up the crumbs was called

analecta.
> Epicurus, Frag. 477 Usener.

196

EPISTLE XXVII.

he began to make life miserable for his guests; he
would keep these fellows at the foot of his couch,
and ask them from time to time for verses which he
might repeat, and then frequently break down in the
middle of a word. Satellius Quadratus, a feeder, and
consequently a fawner, upon addle-pated millionaires,
and also (for this quality goes with the other two) a
flouter of them, suggested to Sabinus that he should
have philologists to gather up the bits.* Sabinus
remarked that each slave cost him one hundred
thousand sesterces; Satellius replied: “ You might
have bought as many book-cases for a smaller sum.’
But Sabinus held to the opinion that what any
member of his household knew, he himself knew
also. This same Satellius began to advise Sabinus
to take wrestling lessons,—sickly, pale, and thin as
he was. Sabinus answered : “How can I? I can
scarcely stay alive now.” “ Don’t say that, I implore
you,” replied the other, “ consider ‘how many per-
fectly healthy slaves you have!” No man is able to
borrow or buy a sound mind ; in fact, as it seems to
me, even though sound minds were for sale, they
would not find buyers. Depraved minds, however,
are bought and sold every day.

But let me pay off my debt and say farewell:
“ Real wealth is poverty adjusted to the law of
Nature.’ ® Epicurus has this saying in various ways
and contexts; but it can never be repeated too
often, since it can never be learned too well. For
some persons the remedy should be merely pre-
scribed; in the case of others, it should be forced
down their throats. Farewell.

197

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XXVIII.
Seneca LyvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Hoc tibi soli putas accidisse et admiraris quasi rem
novam, quod peregrinatione tam longa et tot loco-
rum varietatibus non discussisti tristitiam gravitatem-
que mentis? Animum debes mutare, non caelum.
Licet vastum traieceris mare, licet, ut ait Vergilius
noster,

Terraeque urbesque recedant,

2sequentur te, quocumque perveneris, vitia. Hoc
idem querenti cuidam Socrates ait: ‘Quid miraris
nihil tibi peregrinationes prodesse, cum te circum-
feras? Premit te eadem causa, quae expulit.”
Quid terrarum iuvare novitas potest? Quid cognitio
urbium aut locorum? In inritum cedit ista iactatio.
Quaeris quare te fuga ista non adiuvet? Tecum
fugis. Onus animi deponendum est; non ante tibi

3 ullus placebit locus. Talem nunc esse _ habitum
tuum cogita, qualem Vergilius noster vatis inducit
iam concitatae et instigatae multumque habentis in
se spiritus non sui:

Bacchatur vates, magnum si pectore possit
Excussisse deum.

Vadis huc illuc, ut excutias insidens pondus, quod

@ Cf. Horace, Ep. i. 11. 27 caelum non animum mutant
qui trans mare currunt.
> Aeneid, iii. 72. ¢ Aeneid, vi. 78 f.

198

EPISTLE XXVIII.

XXVIII. ON TRAVEL AS A CURE FOR
DISCONTENT

Do you suppose that you alone have had this
experience? Are you surprised, as if it were a
novelty, that after such long travel and so many
changes of scene you have not been able to shake off
the gloom and heaviness of yourmind? You need a
change of soul rather than a change of climate.*
Though you may cross vast spaces of sea, and though,
as our Vergil® remarks,

Lands and cities are left astern,

your faults will follow you whithersoever you
travel. Socrates made the same remark to one who
complained ; he said: “Why do- you wonder that
globe-trotting does not help you, seeing that you
always take yourself with you? The reason which
set you wandering is ever at your heels.’ What
pleasure is there in secing new lands? Or in
surveying cities and spots of interest? All your
bustle is useless. Do you ask why such flight does
not help you? It is because you flee along with
yourself. You must lay aside the burdens of the
mind ; until you do this, no place will satisfy you.
Reflect that your present behaviour is like that of
the prophetess whom Vergil describes:¢ she is ex-
cited and goaded into fury, and contains within
herself much inspiration that is not her own:

The priestess raves, if haply she may shake
The great god from her heart.

You wander hither and yon, to rid yourself of the
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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ipsa iactatione incommodius fit, sicut in navi onera
inmota minus urgent, inaequaliter convoluta citius
eam partem, in quam incubuere, demergunt.
Quicquid facis, contra te facis et motu ipso noces
tibi; aegrum enim concutis.

4 At cum istud exemeris malum, omnis mutatio
loci iucunda fiet ; in ultimas expellaris terras licebit,
in quolibet barbariae angulo conloceris, hospitalis
tibi illa qualiscumque sedes erit. Magis quis veneris
quam quo, interest, et ideo nulli loco addicere
debemus animunm.. Cum hac persuasione vivendum
est: “Non sum uni angulo natus, patria mea totus

5 hic mundus est.” Quod si liqueret tibi, non admira-
reris nil adiuvari te regionum varietatibus, in quas
subinde priorum taedio migras. Prima enim quaeque
placuisset, si omnem tuam crederes. Nunc non!
peregrinaris, sed erras et ageris ac locum ex loco
mutas, cum illud, quod quaeris, bene vivere, omni

6 loco positum sit. Num quid tam turbidum fieri
potest quam forum? Ibi quoque licet quiete vivere,
si necesse sit. Sed si liceat disponere se, con-
spectum quoque et viciniam fori procul fugiam.
Nam ut loca gravia etiam firmissimam valitudinem
temptant, ita bonae quoque menti necdum adhuc
perfectae et convalescenti sunt aliqua parum salubria.

1 nunc non Schweighduser ; nunc pL; non other MSS.

@ 7,.¢., had you been able to say patria mea totus mundus est,
> Cf. Horace, Ep. i. 11. 28—
navibus atque

Quadrigies petimus bene vivere ; quod petis, hic est.
200

EPISTLE XXVIII.

burden that rests upon you, though it becomes more
troublesome by reason of your very restlessness,
just as in a ship the cargo when stationary makes no
trouble, but when it shifts to this side or that, it
causes the vessel to heel more quickly in the direc-
tion where it has settled. Anything you do tells
against you, and you hurt yourself by your very
unrest ; for you are shaking up a sick man.

That trouble once removed, all change of scene
will become pleasant; though you may be driven to
the uttermost ends of the earth, in whatever corner
of a savage land you may find yourself, that place,
however forbidding, will be to you a _ hospitable
abode. The person you are matters more than the
place to which you go; for that reason we should
not make the mind a bondsman to any one place.
Live in this belief: “Iam not born for any one corner
of the universe; this whole world is my country.”
If you saw this fact clearly, you would not be
surprised at getting no benefit from the fresh scenes
to which you roam each time through weariness of
the old scenes. For the first would have pleased
you in each case, had you believed it wholly yours.*
As it is, however, you are not journeying; you are
drifting and being driven, only exchanging one place
for another, although that which you seek,—to live
well,—is found everywhere.2 Can there be any
spot so full of confusion as the Forum? Yet you
can live quietly even there, if necessary. Of course,
if one were allowed to make one’s own arrangements, I
should flee far from the very sight and neighbourhood
of the Forum. For just as pestilential places assail
even the strongest constitution, so there are some
places which are also unwholesome for a healthy
mind which is not yet quite sound, though recover-

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7 Dissentio ab his, qui in fluctus medios eunt et
tumultuosam probantes vitam cotidie cum difficul-
tatibus rerum magno animo conluctantur. Sapiens
feret ista, non eliget, et malet in pace esse quam in
pugna. Non multum prodest vitia sua proiecisse, si

8 cum alienis rixandum est. “Triginta,’ inquit,}
“tyranni Socraten circumsteterunt nec potuerunt
animum eius infringere.” Quid interest, quot
domini sint? Servitus una est. Hane qui con-
tempsit, in quantalibet turba dominantium liber est.

9 Tempus est desinere, sed si prius portorium
solvero. “Initium est salutis notitia peccati.”
Egregie mihi hoc dixisse videtur Epicurus. Nam
qui peccare se nescit, corrigi non vult; deprehendas

10 te oportet, antequam emendes. Quidam vitiis glo-
riantur ; tu existimas aliquid de remedio cogitare, qui
mala sua virtutum loco numerant? Ideo quantum
potes, te ipse coargue, inquire in te; accusatoris
primum partibus fungere, deinde iudicis, novissime
deprecatoris. Aliquando te offende. VAs.

OG b.<
Seneca LvciLIo svo SALVTEM

1 De Marcellino nostro quaeris et vis scire, quid
agat. Raro ad nos venit, non ulla alia ex causa quam
quod audire verum timet, a quo periculo iam abest.

1 inquit p; inquis LPb.

@ Frag. 522 Usener.
> §.6., refuse your own intercession.

202

EPISTLES XXVIII., XXIX.

ing from its ailment. I disagree with those who
strike out into the midst of the billows and, welcoin-
ing a stormy existence, wrestle daily in hardihood
of soul with life’s problems. The wise man will
endure all that, but will not choose it ; he will prefer
to be at peace rather than at war. It helps little
to have cast out your own faults if you must quarrel
with those of others. Says one: “ There were thirty
tyrants surrounding Socrates, and yet they could
not break his spirit’’; but what does it matter how
many mastersa man has? “Slavery” has no plural ;
and he who has scorned it is free,—no matter amid
how large a mob of over-lords he stands.

It is time to stop, but not before I have paid
duty. “The knowledge of sin is the beginning of
salvation.”” This saying of Epicurus* seems to me
to be a noble one. For he who does not know that
he has sinned does not desire correction; you must
discover yourself in the wrong before you can reform
yourself. Some boast of their faults. Do you think
that the man has any thought of mending his ways
who counts over his vices as if they were virtues?
Therefore, as far as possible, prove yourself guilty,
hunt up charges against yourself; play the part, first
of accuser, then of judge, last of intercessor. At
times be harsh with yourself. Farewell.

XXIX. ON THE CRITICAL CONDITION OF
MARCELLINUS

You have been inquiring about our friend Marcel-
linus and you desire to know how he is getting along.
He seldom comes to see me, for no other reason than
that he is afraid to hear the truth, and at present he

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Nulli enim nisi audituro dicendum est. Ideo de
Diogene nec minus de aliis Cynicis, qui libertate pro-
miscua usi sunt et obvios monuerunt, dubitari solet,

2 an hoc facere debuerint. Quid enim, si quis surdos
obiurget aut natura morbove mutos? “Quare,’’ inquis,
“verbis parcam? Gratuitasunt. Non possum scire,
an ei profuturus sim, quem admoneo;_illud scio,
alicui me profuturum si multos admonuero. Spar-
genda manus est.!_ Non potest fieri, ut non aliquando
succedat multa temptanti.”

3 Hoc, mi Lucili, non existimo magno viro facien-
dum; diluitur eius auctoritas nec habet apud eos
satis ponderis, quos posset minus obsolefacta corrigere.
Sagittarius non aliquando ferire debet, sed aliquando
deerrare. Non est ars, quae ad effectum casu venit.
Sapientia ars est; certum petat, eligat profecturos,
ab is, quos desperavit, recedat, non tamen cito
relinquat et in ipsa desperatione extrema remedia
temptet.

4 Marcellinum nostrum ego nondum_ despero.
Etiamnunc servari potest, sed si cito illi manus
porrigitur. Est quidem periculum, ne porrigentem
trahat; magna in illo ingenii vis est, sed iam
tendentis in pravum. Nihilominus adibo hoc peri-

§ culum et audebo illi mala sua ostendere. Faciet

1 So the MSS. ; otherwise Hense would read spargendum
plena manu est.

@ The usual expression is plena manu spargere, ‘‘ with full
hand,” cf. Ep. exx. 10. In the famous saying of Corinna to
Pindar: ‘‘Sow with the hand and not with the sack,” the
idea is ** sparingly,” and not, as here, ‘‘ bountifully. ”

204

EPISTLE XXIX.

is removed from any danger of hearing it; for one
must not talk to a man unless he is willing to listen.
That is why it is often doubted whether Diogenes
and the other Cynics, who employed an undiscrimi-
nating freedom of speech and offered advice to any
who came in their way, ought to have pursued sucha
plan. For what if one should chide the deaf or those
who are speechless from birth or by illness? But
you answer: “ Why should I spare words? They
cost nothing. I cannot know whether I shall help
the man to whom I give advice; but I know well
that I shall help someone if I advise many. I
must scatter this advice by the handful.* It is im-
possible that one who tries often should not sometime
succeed.”

This very thing, my dear Lucilius, is, I believe,
exactly what a great-souled man ought not to do;
his influence is weakened; it has too little effect
upon those whom it might have set right if it had not
grown so stale. The archer ought not to hit the mark
only sometimes; he ought to miss it only sometimes.
That which takes effect by chance is not an art.
Now wisdom is an art; it should have a definite aim,
choosing only those who will make progress, but
withdrawing from those whom it has come to regard
as hopeless,—yet not abandoning them too soon,
and just when the case is becoming hopeless trying
drastic remedies.

As to our friend Marcellinus, I have not yet lost
hope. He can still be saved, but the helping hand
must be offered soon. There is indeed danger that
he may pull his helper down; for there is in him a
native character of great vigour, though it is already
inclining to wickedness. Nevertheless I shall brave
this danger and be bold enough to show him his

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quod solet; advocabit illas facetias, quae risum
evocare lugentibus possunt, et in se primum, deinde
in nos_ iocabitur. Omnia, quae dicturus sum,
occupabit. Scrutabitur scholas nostras et obiciet
philosophis congiaria, amicas, gulam. Ostendet mihi
alium in adulterio, alium in popina, alium in aula.
6 Ostendet mihi M. Lepidi! philosophum Aristonem,
qui in gestatione disserebat. | Hoc enim ad edendas
operas tempus acceperat. De cuius secta cum
quaereretur, Scaurus ait: “ Utique Peripateticus non
est.” De eodem cum consuleretur Iulius Graecinus,
vir egregius, quid sentiret, “ Non possum,” inquit,
“tibi dicere; nescio enim, quid de gradu faciat,”
7 tamquam de essedario interrogaretur. Hos mihi
circulatores, qui philosophiam honestius neglexissent
quam vendunt, in faciem ingeret. Constitui tamen
contumelias perpeti; moveat ille mihi risum, ego
fortasse illi lacrimas movebo, aut si ridere persevera-
bit, gaudebo tamquam in malis, quod illi genus
insaniae hilare contigerit. Sed non est ista hilaritas
longa. Observa; videbis eosdem intra exiguum
8 tempus acerrime ridere et acerrime rabere. Proposi-
tum est adgredi illum et ostendere, quanto pluris
fuerit, quom multis minoris videretur. Vitia eius
etiam si non excidero, inhibebo; non desinent, sed

1 Tepidi Erasmus (from an unknown MS.); lepidum all
known MSS.

@ The essedarius fought from acar. When his adversary
forced him out of his car, he was compelled to continue the
fight on foot, like an unhorsed knight.

206

EPISTLE XXIX.

faults. He will act in his usual way; he will have
recourse to his wit,—the wit that can call forth
smiles even from mourners. He will turn the jest,
first against himself, and then against me. He will
forestall every word which I am about to utter. He
will quiz our philosophic systems; he will accuse
philosophers of accepting doles, keeping mistresses,
and indulging their appetites. He will point out to
me one philosopher who has been caught in adultery,
another who haunts the cafés, and another who
appears at court. He will bring to my notice Aristo,
the philosopher of Marcus Lepidus, who used to hold
discussions in his carriage; for that was the time
which he had taken for editing his researches, so
that Scaurus said of him when asked to what school
he belonged: “At any rate, he isn’t one of the
Walking Philosophers.” Julius Graecinus, too, a
man of distinction, when asked for an opinion on the
same point, replied: “I cannot tell you; for I don’t
know what he does when dismounted,” as if the
query referred to a chariot-gladiator.* It is mounte-
banks of that sort, for whom it would be more credit-
able to have left philosophy alone than to traffic in
her, whom Marcellinus will throw in my teeth. But
I have decided to put up with taunts; he may stir
my laughter, but I perchance shall stir him to tears;
or, if he persist in his jokes, I shall rejoice, so to
speak, in the midst of sorrow, because he is blessed
with such a merry sort of lunacy. But that kind of
merriment does not last long. Observe such men,
and you will note that within a short space of time
they laugh to excess and rage to excess. It is my
plan to approach him and to show him how much
greater was his worth when many thought it less.
Even though I shall not root out his faults, I shall

VOL. I H 207

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

intermittent. Fortasse autem et desinent, si inter-
mittendi consuetudinem fecerint. Non est hoc ipsum
fastidiendum, quoniam quidem graviter adfectis
sanitatis loco est bona remissio. Dum me illi paro,
tu interim, qui potes, qui intellegis, unde quo evaseris,
et ex eo suspicaris, quousque sis evasurus, compone
mores tuos, attolle animum, adversus formidata con-
siste. Numerare eos noli, qui tibi metum faciunt.
Nonne videatur stultus, si quis multitudinem eo loco
timeat, per quem transitus singulis est? Aeque ad
tuam mortem multis aditus non est, licet illam multi
minentur. Sic istue natura disposuit: spiritum tibi
tam unus eripiet quam unus dedit.

Si pudorem haberes, ultimam mihi pensionem
remisisses. Sed ne ego quidem me sordide geram in
finem aeris alieni et tibi quod debeo, inpingam.
“ Numquam volui populo placere. Nam quae ego
scio, non probat populus; quae probat populus, ego
nescio.”” “Quis hoc?” inquis, tamquam nescias,
cui imperem!; Epicurus. Sed idem hoc omnes tibi
ex omni domo conclamabunt, Peripatetici, Academici,
Stoici, Cynici. Quis enim placere populo potest,
cui placet virtus? Malis artibus popularis favor
quaeritur. Similem te illis facias oportet. Non
probabunt, nisi agnoverint. Multo autem ad rem

limperem and imperim MSS.; imputem Rossbach.

Buecheler conjectures nescias, aes cui imperem, ‘‘ you did
not know the man upon whom I am levying for a loan.”

@ Epicurus, Frag. 187 Usener.
208

EPISTLE XXIX.

put a check upon them; they will not cease, but
they will stop for a time; and perhaps they will
even cease, if they get the habit of stopping. This
is a thing not to be despised, since to men who are
seriously stricken the blessing of relief is a substitute
for health. So while I prepare myself to deal with
Marcellinus, do you in the meantime, who are able,
and who understand whence and whither you have
made your way, and who for that reason have an
inkling of the distance yet to go, regulate your
character, rouse your courage, and stand firm in the
face of things which have terrified you. Do not
count the number of those who inspire fear in you.
Would you not regard as foolish one who was afraid
of a multitude in a place where only one at a time
could pass? Just so, there are not many who have
access to you to slay you, though there are many who
threaten you with death. Nature has so ordered it
that, as only one has given you life, so only one will
take it away.

If you had any shame, you would have let me
off from paying the last instalment. Still, I shall
not be niggardly either, but shall discharge my debts
to the last penny and force upon you what I still owe:
“JT have never wished to cater to the crowd; for
what I know, they do not approve, and what they
approve, I do not know.” * “ Who said this?” you
ask, as if you were ignorant whom I am pressing into
service; it is Epicurus. But this same watchword
rings in your ears from every sect, — Peripatetic,
Academic, Stoic, Cynic. For who that is pleased by
virtue can please the crowd? It takes trickery to
win popular approval; and you must needs make
yourself like unto them; they will withhold their
approval if they do not recognize you as one of

209

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

magis pertinet, qualis tibi videaris quam qualis aliis.
Conciliari nisi turpi ratione amor turpium non potest.

12 Quid ergo illa laudata et omnibus praeferenda artibus
rebusque philosophia praestabit? Scilicet ut malis
tibi placere quam populo, ut aestimes iudicia, non
numeres, ut sine metu deorum hominumque vivas, ut
aut vincas mala aut finias. Ceterum, si te videro
celebrem secundis vocibus vulgi, si intrante te clamor
et plausus, pantomimica ornamenta, obstrepuerint, si
tota civitate te feminae puerique laudaverint, quidni
ego tui miserear, cum sciam, quae via ad istum
favorem ferat? Vate.

XXX.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Bassum Aufidium, virum optimum, vidi quassum,
aetati! obluctantem. Sed iam plus illum degravat
quam quod possit attolli; magno senectus et uni-
verso pondere incubuit. Scis illum semper infirmi
corporis et exsucti fuisse. Diu illud continuit et, ut

2 verius dicam, continuavit 2; subito defecit. Quemad-
modum in nave, quae sentinam trahit, uni rimae aut
alteri obsistitur, ubi plurimis locis laxari coepit et
cedere, succurri non potest navigio dehiscenti; ita

1 vidi quassum, aetati Hense ; vidquassum aetatu aetati p ;

vidi quassum aetate, aetati Chatelain.
2 continuavit Buecheler ; continiavit p ; concinnavit LPb.

210

EPISTLES XXIX., XXX.

themselves. However, what you think of yourself
is much more to the point than what others think of
you. The favour of ignoble men can be won only
by ignoble means. What benefit, then, will that
vaunted philosophy confer, whose praises we sing, and
which, we are told, is to be preferred to every art
and every possession? Assuredly, it will make you
prefer to please yourself rather than the populace,
it will make you weigh, and not merely count, men’s
judgments, it will make you live without fear of
gods or men, it will make you either overcome evils
or end them. Otherwise, if I see you applauded by
popular acclamation, if your entrance upon the scene
is greeted by a roar of cheering and clapping,—
marks of distinction meet only for actors, —if the
whole state, even the women and children, sing
your praises, how can I help pitying you? For
I know what pathway leads to such popularity.
Farewell.

XXX. ON CONQUERING THE CONQUEROR

I have beheld Aufidius Bassus, that noble man,
shattered in health and wrestling with his years.
But they already bear upon him so heavily that he
cannot be raised up; old age has settled down upon
him with great,—yes, with its entire, weight. You
know that his body was always delicate and sapless.
For a long time he has kept it in hand, or, to speak
more correctly, has kept it together; of a sudden
it has collapsed. Just as in a ship that springs a
leak, you can always stop the first or the second
fissure, but when many holes begin to open and let
in water, the gaping hull cannot be saved; similarly,

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

in senili corpore aliquatenus inbecillitas sustineri et
fulciri potest. Ubi tamquam in putri aedificio omnis
‘unctura diducitur, et dum alia excipitur, alia di-
scinditur, circumspiciendum est, quomodo exeas.

3. Bassus tamen noster alacer animo est. Hoc
philosophia praestat, in conspectu mortis hilarem et
in quocumque corporis habitu fortem laetumque nec
deficientem, quamvis deficiatur. Magnus gubernator
et scisso navigat velo, et, si exarmavit, tamen reli-
quias navigii aptat ad cursum. MHoc facit Bassus
noster et eo animo vultuque finem suum spectat, quo
alienum spectare nimis securi putares.

4 Magna res est, Lucili, haee et diu discenda, cum
adventat hora illa inevitabilis, aequo animo abire.
Alia genera mortis spei mixta sunt: desinit morbus,
incendium extinguitur, ruina quos videbatur oppres-
sura deposuit; mare quos hauserat, eadem vi, qua
sorbebat, eiecit incolumes; gladium miles ab ipsa
perituri cervice revocavit. Nil habet quod speret,
quem senectus ducit ad mortem. Hluic uni intercedi
non potest. Nullo genere homines mollius moriuntur
sed nec diutius.

5 Bassus noster videbatur mihi prosequi se et con-

% 4.¢., exeas @ vita, ‘* depart from life.”
212

EPISTLE XXX.

in an old man’s body, there is a certain limit up to
which you can sustain and prop its weakness. But
when it comes to resemble a decrepit building,—
when every joint begins to spread and while one
is being repaired another falls apart,—then it is time
for a man to look about him and consider how he
may get out.

But the mind of our friend Bassus is active.
Philosophy bestows this boon upon us; it makes us
joyful in the very sight of death, strong and brave
no matter in what state the body may be, cheerful
and never failing though the body fail us. A great
pilot can sail even when his canvas is rent; if his
ship be dismantled, he can yet put in trim what
remains of her hull and hold her to her course. This
is what our friend Bassus is doing; and he contem-
plates his own end with the courage and countenance
which you would regard as undue indifference in a
man who so contemplated another's.

This is a great accomplishment, Lucilius, and one
which needs long practice to learn,—to depart calmly
when the inevitable hour arrives. Other kinds of
death contain an ingredient of hope: a disease comes
to an end; a fire is quenched; falling houses have
set down in safety those whom they seemed certain
to crush; the sea has cast ashore unharmed those
whom it had engulfed, by the same force through
which it drew them down; the soldier has drawn
back his sword from the very neck of his doomed
foe. But those whom old age is leading away to
death have nothing to hope for; old age alone
grants no reprieve. No ending, to be sure, is more
painless ; but there is none more lingering.

Our friend Bassus seemed to me to be attending
his own funeral, and laying out his own body for

213

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ponere et vivere tamquam superstes sibi et sapienter
ferre desiderium sui. Nam de morte multa loquitur
et id agit sedulo, ut nobis persuadeat, si quid incom-
modi aut metus in hoc negotio est, morientis vitium
esse, non mortis; non magis in ipsa quicquam esse

6 molestiae quam post ipsam. Tam demens autem
est, qui timet, quod non est passurus, quam qui
timet, quod non est sensurus. An quisquam hoc
futurum credit, ut per quam nihil sentiatur, ea sen-
tiatur? “Ergo,” inquit, “mors adeo extra omne
malum est, ut sit extra omnem malorum metum.”

7 Haec ego scio et saepe dicta et saepe dicenda,
sed neque cum legerem, aeque mihi profuerunt,
neque cum audirem iis! dicentibus, qui negabant
timenda, a quorum metu aberant ; hic vero plurimum
apud me auctoritatis habuit, cum loqueretur de

8 morte vicina. Dicam enim? quid sentiam: puto for-
tiorem esse eum, qui in ipsa morte est quam qui circa
mortem. Mors enim admota etiam inperitis animum
dedit non vitandi inevitabilia. Sic gladiator tota
pugna timidissimus iugulum adversario praestat et
errantem gladium sibi adtemperat. At illa, quae in
propinquo est utique ventura, desiderat lentam animi
firmitatem, quae est rarior nec potest nisi a sapiente
praestari.

g Libentissime itaque illum audiebam quasi ferentem

1 qs Gertz ; his P ; diis pLb.
2 enim Mentel ; etiam pLPb.

« The defeated gladiator is supposed to be on his back,
his opponent standing over him and about to deliver the
final blow. As the blade wavers at the throat, searching
for the jugular vein, the victim directs the point.

214

EPISTLE XXX

burial, and living almost as if he had survived his
own death, and bearing with wise resignation his
grief at his own departure. For he talks freely
about death, trying hard to persuade us that if this
process contains any element of discomfort or of
fear, it is the fault of the dying person, and not of
death itself; also, that there is no more inconvenience
at the actual moment than there is after it is over.
“And it is just as insane,’ he adds, “for a man to
fear what will not happen to him, as to fear what
he will not feel if it does happen.” Or does anyone
imagine it to be possible that the agency by which
feeling is removed can be itself felt? ‘“ Therefore,”
says Bassus, “ death stands so far beyond all evil that
it is beyond all fear of evils.”

I know that all this has often been said and
should be often repeated; but neither when I read
them were such precepts so effective with me, nor
when I heard them from the lips of those who were
at a safe distance from the fear of the things which
they declared were not to be feared. But this old
man had the greatest weight with me when he
discussed death and death was near. For I must
tell you what I myself think: I hold that one is
braver at the very moment of death than when one
is approaching death. For death, when it stands
near us, gives even to inexperienced men the courage
not to seek to avoid the inevitable. So the gladiator,
who throughout the fight has been no matter how
fainthearted, offers his throat to his opponent and
directs the wavering blade to the vital spot.* But
an end that is near at hand, and is bound to come,
calls for tenacious courage of soul; this is a rarer
thing, and none but the wise man can manifest it.

Accordingly, I listened to Bassus with the deepest

VOL. I H 2 215

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11

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de morte sententiam et qualis esset eius natura velut
propius inspectae indicantem. Plus, ut puto, fidei
haberet apud te, plus ponderis, si quis revixisset et
in morte nihil mali esse narraret expertus; accessus
mortis quam perturbationem adferat, optime tibi hi
dicent, qui secundum illam steterunt, qui venientem
et viderunt et receperunt. Inter hos Bassum licet
numeres, qui nos decipi noluit. Is ait tam stultum
esse, qui mortem timeat, quam qui senectutem.
Nam quemadmodum senectus adulescentiam sequitur,
ita mors senectutem. Vivere noluit, qui mori non
vult. Vita enim cum exceptione mortis data est; ad
hance itur. Quam ideo timere dementis est, quia
certa expectantur, dubia metuuntur! Mors necessi-
tatem habet aequam et invictam. Quis queri potest
in ea condicione se esse, in qua nemo non est?
Prima autem pars est aequitatis aequalitas.

Sed nunc supervacuum est naturae causam agere,
quae non aliam voluit legem nostram esse quam
suam ; quicquid conposuit, resolvit, et quicquid re-
solvit, conponit iterum. Iam vero si cui contigit, ut
illum senectus leniter emitteret non repente avolsum
vitae, sed minutatim subductum; o ne illum agere
gratias dis omnibus decet, quod satiatus ad requiem

homini necessariam, lasso gratam perductus est.
216

EPISTLE XXX.

pleasure; he was casting his vote concerning death
and pointing out what sort of a thing it is when
it is observed, so to speak, nearer at hand. I
suppose that a man would have your confidence in
a larger degree, and would have more weight with
you, if he had come back to life and should declare
from experience that there is no evil in death; and
so, regarding the approach of death, those will tell
you best what disquiet it brings who have stood
in its path, who have seen it coming and have
welcomed it. Bassus may be included among these
men; and he had no wish to deceive us. He says
that it is as foolish to fear death as to fear old
age; for death follows old age precisely as old age
follows youth. He who does not wish to die cannot
have wished to live. For life is granted to us with
the reservation that we shall die; to this end our
path leads. Therefore, how foolish it is to fear it,
since men simply await that which is sure, but fear
only that which is uncertain! Death has its fixed
rule,—equitable and unavoidable. Who can com-
plain when he is governed by terms which include
everyone? The chief part of equity, however, is
equality.

But it is superfluous at the present time to
plead Nature’s cause; for she wishes our laws to be
identical with her own; she but resolves that which
she has compounded, and compounds again that
which she has resolved. Moreover, if it falls to the
lot of any man to be set gently adrift by old age,
—not suddenly torn from life, but withdrawn bit
by bit,—oh, verily he should thank the gods, one
and all, because, after he has had his fill, he is
removed to a rest which is ordained for mankind, a
rest that is welcome to the weary. You may observe

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Vides quosdam optantes mortem, et quidem magis
quam rogari solet vita. Nescio utros existimem
maiorem nobis animum dare, qui deposcunt mortem
an qui hilares eam quietique opperiuntur, quoniam
illud ex rabie interdum ac repentina indignatione fit,
haec ex iudicio certo tranquillitas est. Venit aliquis
ad mortem iratus; mortem venientem nemo hilaris
excipit, nisi qui se ad illam diu composuerat.

13. Fateor ergo ad hominem mihi carum ex pluribus
me causis frequentius venisse, ut scirem, an illum
totiens eundem invenirem, numquid cum corporis
viribus minueretur animi vigor. Qui sic crescebat
illi, quomodo manifestior notari solet agitatorum
laetitia, cum septimo spatio palmae adpropinquant.

14 Dicebat quidem ille Epicuri praeceptis obsequens,
primum sperare se nullum dolorem esse in illo ex-
tremo anhelitu; si tamen esset, habere aliquantum
in ipsa brevitate solacii. Nullum enim dolorem
longum esse, qui magnus est. Ceterum succursurum
sibi etiam in ipsa distractione animi corporisque,
si cum cruciatu id fieret, post illum dolorem se
dolere non posse. Non dubitare autem se, quin
senilis anima in primis labris esset nec magna vi
distraheretur a corpore. “Ignis, qui alentem!
materiam occupavit, aqua et interdum ruina ex-

1 alentem Cornelissen ; valentem MSS.

@ j.e., when on the home stretch.
> Frag. 503 Usener.

218

EPISTLE XXX.

certain men who crave death even more earnestly
than others are wont to beg for life. And I do not
know which men give us greater courage,—those
who call for death, or those who meet it cheerfully
and tranquilly,—for the first attitude is sometimes
inspired by madness and sudden anger, the second is
the calm which results from fixed judgment. Before
now men have gone to meet death in a fit of rage;
but when death comes to meet him, no one welcomes
it cheerfully, except the man who has long since
composed himself for death.

I admit, therefore, that I have visited this dear
friend of mine more frequently on many pretexts,
but with the purpose of learning whether I should
find him always the same, and whether his mental
strength was perhaps waning in company with his
bodily powers. But it was on the increase, just as
the joy of the charioteer is wont to show itself more
clearly when he is on the seventh round? of the
course, and nears the prize. Indeed, he often said, in
accord with the counsels of Epicurus?: “I hope, first
of all, that there is no pain at the moment when a
man breathes his last; but if there is, one will find
an element of comfort in its very shortness. For no
great pain lasts long. And at all events, a man will
find relief at the very time when soul and body are
being torn asunder, even though the process be
accompanied by excruciating pain, in the thought
that after this pain is over he can feel no more
pain. I am sure, however, that an old man’s soul
is on his very lips, and that only a little force is
necessary to disengage it from the body. A fire
which has seized upon a substance that sustains
it needs water to quench it, or, sometimes, the
destruction of the building itself; but the fire

219

16

18

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tinguendus est; ille, qui alimentis deficitur, sua
sponte subsidit.”’

Libenter haec, mi Lucili, audio non tamquam
nova, sed tamquam in rem praesentem perductus.
Quid ergo? Non multos spectavi abrumpentes
vitam? Ergo vero vidi, sed plus momenti apud me
habent, qui ad mortem veniunt sine odio vitae et
admittunt illam, non adtrahunt. I[llud quidem aiebat
tormentum nostra nos sentire opera, quod tunc
trepidamus, cum prope a nobis esse credimus mortem.
A quo enim non prope est, parata omnibus locis
omnibusque momentis? “ Sed consideremus,’ inquit,
“tune, cum aliqua causa moriendi videtur accedere,
quanto aliae propiores sint, quae non timentur.”
Hostis alicui mortem minabatur, hance cruditas occu-
pavit. Si distinguere voluerimus causas metus nostri,
inveniemus alias esse, alias videri. | Non mortem
timemus, sed cogitationem mortis. Ab ipsa enim
semper tantundem absumus. Ita si timenda mors
est, semper timenda est. Quod enim morti tempus
exemptum est ?

Sed vereri debeo, ne tam longas epistulas peius
quam mortem oderis. Itaque finem faciam. Tu
tamen mortem ut numquam timeas, semper cogita.
VALE.

220

EPISTLE XXX.

which lacks sustaining fuel dies away of its own
accord.”

I am glad to hear such words, my dear Lucilius,—
not as new to me, but as leading me into the
presence of an actual fact. And what then? Have
I not seen many men break the thread of life? I
have indeed seen such men; but those have more
weight with me who approach death without any
loathing for life, letting death in, so to speak, and
not pulling it towards them. Bassus kept saying:
“It is due to our own fault that we feel this torture,
because we shrink from dying only when we believe
that our end is near at hand.” But who is not near
death? It is ready for us in all places and at all
times. “ Let us consider,’ he went on to say, “ when
some agency of death seems imminent, how much
nearer are other varieties of dying, which are not
feared by us.” A man is threatened with death by
an enemy, but this form of death is anticipated by
an attack of indigestion. And if we are willing to
examine critically the various causes of our fear, we
shall find that some exist, and others only seem to
be. We do not fear death; we fear the thought of
death. For death itself is always the same distance
from us; wherefore, if it is to be feared at all, it is to
be feared always. For what season of our life is
exempt from death?

But what I really ought to fear is that you will
hate this long letter worse than death itself; so I
shall stop. Do you, however, always think on death
in order that you may never fear it. Farewell

a |

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XXXL
Seneca LyvyciILio svo SALVTEM

1 Agnosco Lucilium meum; incipit, quem promi-
serat, exhibere. Sequere illum impetum animi, quo
ad optima quaeque calcatis popularibus bonis ibas.
Non desidero maiorem melioremque te fieri quam
moliebaris. Fundamenta tua multum loci occupave-
runt; tantum eflice, quantum conatus es, et illa quae

2 tecum in animo tulisti, tracta. Ad summam sapiens
eris, si cluseris aures, quibus ceram parum est obdere ;
firmiore spissamento opus est quam in sociis usum
Vlixem ferunt. Illa vox, quae timebatur, erat blanda,
non tamen publica, at haec, quae timenda est, non
ex uno scopulo, sed ex omni terrarum parte circum-
sonat. Praetervehere itaque non unum locum in-
sidiosa voluptate suspectum, sed omnes urbes. Surdum
te amantissimis tuis praesta; bono animo mala
precantur. Kt si esse vis felix, deos ora, ne quid tibi

3 ex his, quae optantur, eveniat. Non sunt ista bona,
quae in te isti volunt congeri; unum bonum est,
quod beatae vitae causa et firmamentum est, sibi
fidere. Hoc autem contingere non potest, nisi con-
temptus est labor et in eorum numero habitus, quae
neque bona sunt neque mala. Fieri enim non potest,
ut una ulla res modo mala sit, modo bona, modo

4 levis et perferenda, modo expavescenda. Labor
bonum non est. Quid ergo est bonum? Laboris

« The argument is that work is not, in itself, a good; if
it were, it would not be praiseworthy at one time and to be
deprecated at another. It belongs, therefore, to the class
of thing which the Stoics called déivdgopa, indifferentia, res
mediae ; cf. Cicero, de Lin, iii. 16,

222

EPISTLE XXX1.

XXXI. ON SIREN SONGS

Now I recognize my Lucilius! He is beginning
to reveal the character of which he gave promise.
Follow up the impulse which prompted you to make
for all that is best, treading under your feet that which
is approved by the crowd. I would not have you
greater or better than you planned; for in your case
the mere foundations have covered a large extent of
ground ; only finish all that you have laid out, and take
in hand the plans which you have had in mind. In
short, you will be a wise man, if you stop up your
ears ; nor is it enough to close them with wax; you
need a denser stopple than that which they say
Ulysses used for his comrades. The song which he
feared was alluring, but came not from every side; the
song, however, which you have to fear, echoes round
you not from a single headland, but from every
quarter of the world. Sail, therefore, not past one
region which you mistrust because of its treacherous
delights, but past every city. Be deaf to those who
love you most of all; they pray for bad things with
good intentions. And, if you would be happy,
entreat the gods that none of their fond desires for
you may be brought to pass. What they wish to
have heaped upon you are not really good things ;
there is only one good, the cause and the support of
a happy life,—trust in oneself. But this cannot be
attained, unless one has learned to despise toil and
to reckon it among the things which are neither
good nor bad. For it is not possible that a single
thing should be bad at one time and good at another,
at times light and to be endured, and at times a
cause of dread. Work is not a good.* Then what is

223

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

contemptio. Itaque in vanum operosos culpaverim.
Rursus ad honesta nitentes, quanto magis incubuerint
minusque sibi vinci ac strigare permiserint, adprobabo!
et clamabo: “ Tanto melior, surge et inspira et clivum
istum uno, si potes, spiritu exsupera.”’

2 Generosos animos labor nutrit. Non est ergo,
quod ex illo voto vetere? parentum tuorum eligas,
quid contingere tibi velis, quid optes; et in totum
iam per maxima acto viro turpe est etiamnunc deos
fatigare. Quid votis opus est? [ac te ipse felicem.
Facies autem, si intellexeris bona esse, quibus admixta
virtus est, turpia, quibus malitia coniuncta est. Quem-
admodum sine mixtura lucis nihil splendidum est,
nihil atrum, nisi quod tenebras habet aut aliquid in
se traxit obscuri, quaemadmodum sine adiutorio ignis
nihil calidum est, nihil sine aére frigidum ; ita honesta
et turpia virtutis ac malitiae societas efficit.

6 Quid ergo est bonum? Rerum scientia. Quid
malum est? Rerum imperitia. Ille prudens atque
artifex pro tempore quaeque repellet aut eliget. Sed
nec quae repellit timet, nec miratur quae elegit, si
modo magnus illi et invictus animus est. Summitti
te ac deprimi veto. Laborem si non recuses, parum

1 adprobabo Haase ; adprobator p; admirabor LPb.
2 ex illo voto vetere Hense ; ex illo vetere pLPb.

a Literally, ‘‘come to the end of his furrow.”
224

EPISTLE XXXII.

a good? I say, the scorning of work. That is why
I should rebuke men who toil to no purpose. But
when, on the other hand, a man is struggling towards
honourable things, in proportion as he applies himself
more and more, and allows himself less and less to be
beaten or to halt,* I shall recommend his conduct
and shout my encouragement, saying: “ By so much
you are better! Rise, draw a fresh breath, and
surmount that hill, if possible, at a single spurt!”

Work is the sustenance of noble minds. There
is, then, no reason why, in accordance with that old
vow of your parents, you should pick and choose
what fortune you wish should fall to your lot, or
what you should pray for; besides, it is base for a
man who has already travelled the whole round of
highest honours to be still importuning the gods.
What need is there of vows? Make yourself happy
through your own efforts; you can do this, if once
you comprehend that whatever is blended with
virtue is good, and that whatever is joined to vice
is bad. Just as nothing gleams if it has no light
blended with it, and nothing is black unless it
contains darkness or draws to itself something of
dimness, and as nothing is hot without the aid of
fire, and nothing cold without air; so it is the
association of virtue and vice that makes things
honourable or base.

What then is good? The knowledge of things.
What is evil? The lack of knowledge of things.
Your wise man, who is also a craftsman, will reject
or choose in each case as it suits the occasion; but
he does not fear that which he rejects, nor does he
admire that which he chooses, if only he has a stout
and unconquerable soul. I forbid you to be cast
down or depressed, It is not enough if you do not

225

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

7 est; posce. “Quid ergo?” inquis, “labor frivolus
et supervacuus et! quem humiles causae evocaverunt,?
non est malus?”’ Non magis quam ille, qui pulchris
rebus inpenditur, quoniam animi est ipsa tolerantia,
quae se ad dura et aspera hortatur ac dicit: “Quid

§ cessas? Non est viri timere sudorem.” Huc et illud
accedat, ut perfecta virtus sit, aequalitas ac tenor
vitae per omnia consonans sibi, quod non potest esse,
nisi rerum scientia contingit et ars, per quam humana
ac divina noscantur. Hoc est summum_ bonum.
Quod si occupas, incipis deorum socius esse, non
supplex.

g “Quomodo,” inquis, “isto pervenitur?” Non per
Poeninum Graiumve montem nec per deserta Can-
daviae, nec Syrtes tibi nec Scylla aut Charybdis
adeundae sunt, quae tamen omnia transisti procura-
tiunculae pretio; tutum iter est, iucundum est, ad
quod natura te instruxit. Dedit tibi illa, quae si

10 non deserueris, par deo surges. Parem autem te deo
pecunia non faciet ; deus nihil habet. Praetexta non
faciet; deus nudus est. Fama non faciet nec osten-
tatio tui et in populos nominis dimissa notitia; nemo
novit deum, multi de illo male existimant, et inpune.
Non turba servorum lecticam tuam per itinera urbana

1 et Hense; est MSS.
2 evocaverunt Haase; vocaverunt MSS.

@ i.¢., philosophy.
> The Great St. Bernard and the Little St. Bernard routes
over the Alps.
¢ A mountain in Illyria, over which the Via Egnatia ran.
@ Dangerous quick-sands along the north coast of Africa.
¢ The toga praetexta, badge of the official position of
Lucilius.
29

EPISTLE XXXI.

shrink from work; ask for it. “ But,” you say, “is
not trifling and superfluous work, and work that has
been inspired by ignoble causes, a bad sort of work ?”’
No; no more than that which is expended upon
noble endeavours, since the very quality that endures
toil and rouses itself to hard and uphill effort, is of
the spirit, which says: “Why do you grow slack?
It is not the part of a man to fear sweat.” And
besides this, in order that virtue may be perfect,
there should be an even temperament and a scheme
of life that is consistent with itself throughout; and
this result cannot be attained without knowledge of
things, and without the art* which enables us to
understand things human and things divine. That
is the greatest good. If you seize this good, you
begin to be the associate of the gods, and not their
suppliant.

“ But how,” you ask, “ does one attain that goal ?”’
You do not need to cross the Pennine or Graian?
hills, or traverse the Candavian © waste, or face the
Syrtes,? or Scylla, or Charybdis, although you have
travelled through all these places for the bribe of a
petty governorship ; the journey for which nature has
equipped you is safe and pleasant. She has given
you such gifts that you may, if you do not prove
false to them, rise level with God. Your money,
however, will not place you ona level with God ; for
God has no property. Your bordered robe’ will not
do this; for God is not clad in raiment; nor will
your reputation, nor a display of self, nor a know-
ledge of your name wide-spread throughout the
world; for no one has knowledge of God; many
even hold him in low esteem, and do not suffer for
so doing. The throng of slaves which carries your
litter along the city streets and in foreign places

227

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ac peregrina portantium; deus ille maximus poten-
tissimusque ipse vehit omnia. Ne forma quidem et
vires beatum te facere possunt; nihil horum patitur
vetustatem.

11 Quaerendum est, quod non fiat in dies eius, quoi!
non possit obstari. Quid hoc est? Animus, sed hic
rectus, bonus, magnus. Quid aliud voces hune quam
deum in corpore humano hospitantem? Hic animus
tam in equitem Romanum quam in libertinum, quam
in servum potest cadere. Quid est enim eques
Romanus aut libertinus aut servus? Nomina ex am-
bitione aut ex iniuria nata. Subsilire in caelum ex
angulo licet. Exurge modo

et te quoque dignum
Finge deo.

Finges autem non auro vel argento ; non potest ex hac
materia imago deo exprimi similis; cogita illos, cum
propitii essent, fictiles fuisse. Vater.

XXXII.
Seneca Lycitio svo sALVTEM

1 Inquiro de te et ab omnibus sciscitor, qui ex ista
regione veniunt, quid agas, ubi et cum quibus more-
ris. Verba dare non potes; tecum sum. Sic vive,
tamquam quid facias auditurus sim, immo tamquam
visurus. Quaeris quid me maxime ex iis, quae de te

1 quoi Opsopoeus ; quo pPb; qui L.
« For example, Time or Chance.
> Vergil, Aeneid, viii. 364 f.
¢ Inthe Golden Age, described in Ep. xc., when men were
nearest to nature and ‘‘ fresh from the gods.”

228

EPISTLES XXXI., XXXII.

will not help you; for this God of whom I speak,
though the highest and most powerful of beings,
carries all things on his own shoulders. Neither can
beauty or strength make you blessed; for none of
these qualities can withstand old age.

What we have to seek for, then, is that which does
not each day pass more and more under the control
of some power which cannot be withstood. And
what is this ? It is the soul,—but the soul that is
upright, good, and great. What else could you call
such a soul than a god dwelling as a guest in a
human body? A soul like this may descend into a
Roman knight just as well as into a freedman’s son
or a slave. For what is a Roman knight, or a
freedman’s son, or a slave? They are mere titles,
born of ambition or of wrong. One may leap to
heaven from the very slums. Only rise

And mould thyself to kinship with thy God.?

This moulding will not be done in gold or silver;
an image that is to be in the likeness of God cannot
be fashioned of such materials; remember that the
gods, when they were kind unto men,’ were moulded
in clay. Farewell.

XXXII. ON PROGRESS

I have been asking about you, and inquiring of
everyone who comes from your part of the country,
what you are doing, and where you are spending
your time, and with whom. You cannot deceive me;
for Iam with you. Live just as if I were sure to get
news of your doings, nay, as if I were sure to behold
them. And if you wonder what particularly pleases

229

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

audio, delectet ? Quod nihil audio, quod plerique ex
his, quos interrogo, nesciunt quid agas.

2 Hoc est salutare, non conversari dissimilibus et
diversa cupientibus. Habeo quidem fiduciam non
posse te detorqueri mansurumque in proposito, etiam
si sollicitantium turba circumeat. Quid ergo est?
Non timeo, ne mutent te, timeo, ne inpediant.
Multum autem nocet etiam qui moratur, utique in
tanta brevitate vitae, quam breviorem inconstantia
facimus aliud eius subinde atque aliud facientes
initium. Diducimus illam in particulas ac lancinamus.

3 Propera ergo, Lucili carissime, et cogita quantum
additurus celeritati fueris, si a tergo hostis instaret,
si equitem adventare suspicareris ac fugientium
premere vestigia. Fit hoc, premeris; accelera et
evade, perduc te in tutum et subinde considera, quam
pulchra res sit consummare vitam ante mortem,
deinde expectare securum reliquam temporis sui
partem, nihil sibi, in possessione beatae vitae positum,

4 quae beatior non fit, si longior. O quando illud vide-
bis tempus, quo scies tempus ad te non pertinere, quo
tranquillus placidusque eris et crastini neglegens ut? in
summa tui satietate !

Vis scire, quid sit, quod faciat homines avidos
futuri? Nemo sibi contigit. Optaverunt itaque

1 ut added by Gertz.

¢ The text seems to be corrupt. Hense thinks that
expectare is to be supplied with nihil sibi—‘*To expect
nothing for oneself”; but the use of the verb in two
meanings would be harsh. The thought seems to be
‘‘asking for no added years”; and one suspects the loss of
a word like adrogantem before nihil.

230

EPISTLE XXXII.

me that I hear concerning you, it is that I hear
nothing, that most of those whom I ask do not know
what you are doing.

This is sound practice,—to refrain from associating
with men of different stamp and different aims. And
I am indeed confident that you cannot be warped,
that you will stick to your purpose, even though the
crowd may surround and seek to distract you. What,
then, ison my mind? I am not afraid lest they work
a change in you; but I am afraid lest they may
hinder your progress. And much harm is done even
by one who holds you back, especially since life
is so short; and we make it still shorter by our un-
steadiness, by making ever fresh beginnings at life,
now one and immediately another. We break up
life into little bits, and fritter it away. Hasten
ahead, then, dearest Lucilius, and reflect how greatly
you would quicken your speed if an enemy were at
your back, or if you suspected the cavalry were
approaching and pressing hard upon your steps as
you fled. It is true; the enemy is indeed pressing
upon you; you should therefore increase your speed
and escape away and reach a safe position, remember-
ing continually what a noble thing it is to round out
your life before death comes, and then await in peace
the remaining portion of your time, claiming ®
nothing for yourself, since you are in possession of
the happy life; for such a life is not made happier
for being longer. O when shall you see the time
when you shall know that time means nothing to
you, when you shall be peaceful and calm, careless
of the morrow, because you are enjoying your life
to the full?

Would you know what makes men greedy for the
future? It is because no one has yet found himself.

231

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tibi alia parentes tui; sed ego contra omnium tibi
eorum contemptum opto, quorum illi copiam. Vota
illorum multos conpilant, ut te locupletent. Quicquid
5 ad te transferunt, alicui detrahendum est. Opto tibi
tui facultatem, ut vagis cogitationibus agitata mens
tandem resistat et certa sit, ut placeat sibi et intel-
lectis veris! bonis, quae, simul intellecta sunt, pos-
sidentur, aetatis adiectione non egeat. [lle demum
necessitates supergressus est et exauctoratus ac liber,

qui vivit vita peracta. VALE.

XXXITI.

SENECA LvcILIo svO SALVTEM

1 YDesideras his quoque epistulis sicut prioribus ad-
scribi aliquas voces nostrorum procerum. Non fue-
runt circa flosculos occupati; totus contextus illorum
virilis est. Inaequalitatem scias esse, ubi quae
eminent, notabilia sunt. Non est admirationi una
arbor, ubi in eandem altitudinem tota silva sur-

2 yexit. Eiusmodi vocibus referta sunt carmina, refertae
historiae. Itaque nolo illas Epicuri existimes esse ;

publicae sunt et maxime nostrae. Sed in? illo magis

1 veris Erasmus ; verbis MSS.
2 om added by Erasmus.

# i.e., Stoic as well as Epicurean.

232

EPISTLES XXXII., XXXIII.

Your parents, to be sure, asked other blessings for
you; but I myself pray rather that you may despise
all those things which your parents wished for you
in abundance. Their prayers plunder many another
person, simply that you may be enriched. Whatever
they make over to you must be removed from
someone else. I pray that you may get such control
over yourself that your mind, now shaken by wander-
ing thoughts, may at last come to rest and be stead-
fast, that it may be content with itself and, having
attained an understanding of what things are truly
good,—and they are in our possession as soon as we
have this knowledge,—that it may have no need of
added years. He has at length passed beyond all
necessities,—he has won his honourable discharge
and is free,—who still lives after his life has been
completed. Farewell.

XXXIII. ON THE FUTILITY OF LEARNING
MAXIMS

You wish me to close these letters also, as I
closed my former letters, with certain utterances
taken from the chiefs of our school. But they did
not interest themselves in choice extracts ; the whole
texture of their work is full of strength. There is
unevenness, you know, when some objects rise con-
spicuous above others. A single tree is not remark-
able if the whole forest rises to the same height.
Poetry is crammed with utterances of this sort, and
so is history. For this reason I would not have you
think that these utterances belong to Epicurus: they
are common property and are emphatically our own.

233

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

adnotantur, quia rarae interim interveniunt, quia in-
expectatae, quia mirum est fortiter aliquid dici ab
homine mollitiam professo. Ita enim plerique iudi-
cant. Apud me Epicurus est et fortis, licet manu-
leatus sit. Fortitudo et industria et ad bellum
prompta mens tam in Persas quam in alte cinctos
cadit.

3 Non est ergo quod exigas excerpta et repetita;
continuum est apud nostros quicquid apud alios ex-
cerpitur. Non habemus itaque ista ocliferia nec
emptorem decipimus nihil inventurum, cum intraverit,
praeter illa, quae in fronte suspensa sunt. Ipsis

4 permittimus, unde velint sumere exemplaria. Puta
nos velle singulares sententias ex turba separare;
cui illas adsignabimus? Zenoni an Cleanthi an
Chrysippo an Panaetio an Posidonio? Non sumus
sub rege; sibi quisque se vindicat. Apud _ istos
quicquid Hermarchus dixit, quicquid Metrodorus,
ad unum refertur. Omnia quae quisquam in illo
contubernio locutus est, unius ductu et auspiciis
dicta sunt. Non possumus, inquam, licet temptemus,
educere aliquid ex tanta rerum aequalium multitudine.

Pauperis est numerare pecus.

@ Contrasted with alte cinctos. The sleeveless and
‘* girt-up ” tunic is the sign of energy ; cf. Horace, Sat. i.
5. 5, and Suetonius, Caligula, 52: the effeminate Caligula
would ‘* appear in public with a long-sleeved tunic and
bracelets.”

> Who wore sleeves.

° 7.e., the Epicureans.

@ For the phrase ductu et auspiciis see Plautus, Amph.
i. 1. 41 wt gesserit rem publicam ductu imperio auspicio suo ;
and Horace, Od. i. 7. 27 Teucro duce et auspice Teucro.
The original significance of the phrase refers to the right of
the commander-in-chief to take the auspices.

¢ Ovid, Metamorphoses, xiii. 824.
234

EPISTLE XXXIII.

They are, however, more noteworthy in Epicurus,
because they appear at infrequent intervals and
when you do not expect them, and because it is
surprising that brave words should be spoken at
any time by a man who made a practice of being
effeminate. For that is what most persons main-
tain. In my own opinion, however, Epicurus is
really a brave man, even though he did wear long
sleeves.* Fortitude, energy, and readiness for battle
are to be found among the Persians,? just as
much as among men who have girded themselves
up high.

Therefore, you need not call upon me for extracts
and quotations; such thoughts as one may extract
here and there in the works of other philosophers
run through the whole body of our writings. Hence
we have no “ show-window goods,” nor do we deceive
the purchaser in such a way that, if he enters our
shop, he will find nothing except that which is dis-
played in the window. We allow the purchasers
themselves to get their samples from anywhere they
please. Suppose we should desire to sort out each
separate motto from the general stock; to whom
shall we credit them? To Zeno, Cleanthes, Chrysip-
pus, Panaetius, or Posidonius? We Stoics are not
subjects of a despot: each of us lays claim to his
own freedom. With them,’ on the other hand,
whatever Hermarchus says, or Metrodorus, is ascribed
to one source. In that brotherhood, everything
that any man utters is spoken under the leader-
ship and commanding authority? of one alone. We
cannot, I maintain, no matter how we try, pick out
anything from so great a multitude of things equally
good.

Only the poor man counts his flock.¢
235

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Quocumque miseris oculum, id tibi occurret, quod
eminere posset, nisi inter paria legeretur.

5 Quare depone istam spem, posse te summatim
degustare ingenia maximorum virorum; tota tibi
inspicienda sunt, tota tractanda. Res geritur et per
lineamenta sua ingenii opus nectitur, ex quo nihil
subduci sine ruina potest. Nec recuso, quo minus
singula membra, dummodo in ipso homine, consideres.
Non est formonsa, cuius crus laudatur aut brachium,
sed illa, cuius universa facies admirationem partibus
singulis abstulit.

6 Si tamen exegeris, non tam mendice tecum agam,
sed plena manu fiet ; ingens eorum turba est passim
iacentium, sumenda erunt, non colligenda. Non
enim excidunt, sed fluunt. Perpetua et inter se
contexta sunt. Nec dubito, quin multum conferant
rudibus adhuc et extrinsecus auscultantibus ; facilius
enim singula insidunt circumscripta et carminis modo

7 inclusa. Ideo pueris et sententias ediscendas damus
et has quas Graeci chrias vocant, quia conplecti illas
puerilis animus potest, qui plus adhuc non capit.
Certi profectus viro captare flosculos turpe est et
fulcire se notissimis ac paucissimis vocibus et memoria
stare; sibi iam innitatur. Dicat ista, non teneat.

Turpe est enim seni aut prospicienti senectutem ex

¢ Hither ‘‘maxims” or ‘‘outlines,” “themes.” For a
discussion of them see Quintilian, Jnst. Orat. i. 9. 3 ff.

236

EPISTLE XXXIII.

Wherever you direct your gaze, you will meet with
something that might stand out from the rest, if the
context in which you read it were not equally notable.

For this reason, give over hoping that you can
skim, by means of epitomes, the wisdom of distin-
guished men. Look into their wisdom as a whole;
study it as a whole. They are working out a plan
and weaving together, line upon line, a masterpiece,
from which nothing can be taken away without injury
to the whole. Examine the separate parts, if you
like, provided you examine them as parts of the man
himself. She is not a beautiful woman whose ankle
or arm is praised, but she whose general appearance
makes you forget to admire her single attributes.

If you insist, however, I shall not be niggardly
with you, but lavish ; for there is a huge multitude
of these passages; they are scattered about in pro-
fusion,—they do not need to be gathered together,
but merely to be picked up. They do not drip forth
occasionally ; they flow continuously. They are
unbroken and are closely connected. Doubtless they
would be of much benefit to those who are still
novices and worshipping outside the shrine; for
single maxims sink in more easily when they are
marked off and bounded like a line of verse. ‘That is
why we give to children a proverb, or that which the
Greeks call Chria,* to be learned by heart; that sort
of thing can be comprehended by the young mind,
which cannot as yet hold more. For a man, how-
ever, whose progress is definite, to chase after choice
extracts and to prop his weakness by the best
known and the briefest sayings and to depend upon
his memory, is disgraceful ; it is time for him to lean
on himself. He should make such maxims and not
memorize them. For it is disgraceful even for an

237

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

commentario sapere. ‘ Hoc Zenon dixit” ; tu quid ?
“Hoc Cleanthes”; tu quid? Quousque sub alio
moveris? Impera et dic, quod memoriae tradatur.
8 Aliquid et de tuo profer. Omnes itaque istos, num-
quam auctores, semper interpretes sub aliena umbra
latentes, nihil existimo habere generosi, numquam
ausos aliquando facere, quod diu didicerant. _Memo-
riam in alienis exercuerunt. Aliud autem est memi-
nisse, aliud scire. Meminisse est rem commissam
memoriae custodire. At contra scire est et sua facere
quaeque nec ad exemplar pendere et totiens respicere
9 ad magistrum. “ Hoc dixit Zenon, hoc Cleanthes !”
Aliquid inter te intersit et librum. Quousque disces?
Iam et praecipe. “Quid est quare et! audiam, quod
legere possum?” Multum,” inquit, “viva vox facit.”
Non quidem haec, quae alienis verbis commodatur et
actuari vice fungitur.
10 Adice nune quod isti, qui numquam tutelae suae
fiunt, primum in ea re secuntur priores, in qua nemo
non a priore descivit; deinde in ea re secuntur, quae

adhuc quaeritur. Numquam autem invenietur si con-

1 quid est quare et Hense; quid est et quare p; quidem
quod ar te L; quid est quare Pb.

@ The objector is the assumed auditor. The answer to
the objection gives the general view as to the power of the
living voice ; to this Seneca assents, provided that the voice
has a message of its own.

238

EPISTLE XXXIII.

old man, or one who has sighted old age, to have
a note-book knowledge. “This is what Zeno said.”
But what have you yourself said? “This is the
opinion of Cleanthes.” But what is your own
opinion? How long shall you march under another
man’s orders? ‘Take command, and utter some
word which posterity will remember. Put forth
something from your own stock. For this reason [|
hold that there is nothing of eminence in all such
men as these, who never create anything themselves,
but always lurk in the shadow of others, playing the
role of interpreters, never daring to put once into
practice what they have been so long in learning.
They have exercised their memories on other men’s
material. But it is one thing to remember, another
to know. Remembering is merely safeguarding
something entrusted to the memory ; knowing, how-
ever, means making everything your own; it means
not depending upon the copy and not all the time
glancing back at the master. “Thus said Zeno, thus
said Cleanthes, indeed!” Let there be a difference
between yourself and your book! How long shall
you bea learner? From now on be a teacher as well!
“But why,” one asks,“ “should I have to continue
hearing lectures on what I canread?” “ The living
voice,” one replies, “is a great help.” Perhaps, but
not the voice which merely makes itself the mouth-
piece of another’s words, and only performs the duty
of a reporter.

Consider this fact also. those who have never
attained their mental independence begin, in the first
place, by following the leader in cases where every-
one has deserted the leader; then, in the second
place, they follow him in matters where the truth is
still being investigated. However, the truth will

VOL. I I 23Y

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tenti fuerimus inventis. Praeterea qui alium sequitur,

1] nihil invenit, immo nec quaerit. Quid ergo? Non
ibo per priorum vestigia? Ego vero utar via vetere,
sed si propiorem planioremque invenero, hanc muniam.
Qui ante nos ista moverunt, non domini nostri, sed
duces sunt. Patet omnibus veritas, nondum est
occupata. Multum ex illa etiam futuris relictum
est. VALE.

XX KIL
Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 Cresco et exulto et discussa senectute recalesco,
quotiens ex iis, quae agis ac scribis, intellego, quantum
te ipse, nam turbam olim reliqueras, superieceris.! Si
azricolam arbor ad fructum perducta delectat, si pastor
ex fetu gregis sui capit voluptatem, si alumnum suum
nemo aliter intuetur quam ut adulescentiam illius
suam iudicet; quid evenire credis iis, qui ingenia
educaverunt et quae tenera formaverunt adulta subito
vident? i

9 Adsero te mihi; meum opus es. Ego quom?
vidissem indolem tuam, inieci manum, exhortatus
sum, addidi stimulos nec lente ire passus sum, sed
subinde incitavi; et nunc idem facio, sed iam cur-
rentem hortor et invicem hortantem.

1 superieceris von Jan; supertegeris MSS.
2 guom Rossbach ; quam, cum ard com MSS.

@ A reference to the act (iniectio) by which a Roman took
possession of a thing belonging to him, ¢.g., a runaway
slave,—without a decision of the court.

240

EPISTLES XXXIII., XXXIV.

never be discovered if we rest contented with dis-
coveries already made. Besides, he who follows
another not only discovers nothing, but is not even
investigating. What then? Shall I not follow in
the footsteps of my predecessors? I shall indeed
use the old road, but if I find one that makes a
shorter cut and is smoother to travel, I shall open
the new road. Men who have made these discoveries
before us are not our masters, but our guides. Truth
lies open for all; it has not yet been monopolized.
And there is plenty of it left even for posterity to
discover. Farewell.

AXXITY._ON A°PROMISING. PUPIL

I grow in spirit and leap for joy and shake off my
years and my blood runs warm again, whenever I
understand, from your actions and your letters, how
far you have outdone yourself; for as to the ordinary
man, you left him in the rear long ago. If the
farmer is pleased when his tree develops so that it
bears fruit, if the shepherd takes pleasure in the
increase of his flocks, if every man regards his pupil
as though he discerned in him his own early man-
hood,—what, then, do you think are the feelings of
those who have trained a mind and moulded a young
idea, when they see it suddenly grown to maturity ?

I claim you for myself; you are my handiwork,
When I saw your abilities, I laid my hand upon you,?
1 exhorted you, I applied the goad and did not
permit you to march lazily, but roused you continu-
ally. And now I do the same; but by this time I
am cheering on one who is in the race and so in
turn cheers me on.

241

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

3 “Quid aliud?” inquis; “adhue volo.” | In hoe
plurimum est, non sic quomodo principia totius operis
dimidium occupare dicuntur ; ista! res animo constat.
Itaque pars magna bonitatis est velle fieri bonum.
Scis quem bonum dicam? Perfectum, absolutum,
quem malum facere nulla vis, nulla necessitas possit.

4 Hunc te prospicio, si perseveraveris et incubueris et
id egeris, ut omnia facta dictaque tua inter se con-
gruant ac respondeant sibi et una forma percussa
sint. Non est huius animus in recto, cuius acta
discordant. VALE,

XXXV

Seneca LvyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Cum te tam valde rogo, ut studeas, meum nego-
tium ago; habere te? amicum volo, quod contingere
mihi, nisi pergis ut coepisti excolere te, non potest.
Nune enim amas me, amicus non es. “Quid ergo?
Haec inter se diversa sunt?”’ Immo dissimilia. Qui
amicus est, amat; qui amat, non utique amicus est.
Itaque amicitia semper prodest, amor aliquando etiam
nocet. Si nihil aliud, ob hoc profice, ut amare
discas.

9 Festina ergo, dum mihi proficis, ne istuc alteri

1 jsta Haase; ita MSS.
2 te added by Linde.

@ j.¢., the proverb may apply to tasks which a man
performs with his hands, but it is an understatement when
applied to the tasks of the soul.

® The question of Lucilius represents the popular view,
which regards love as including friendship. But accord-
ing to Seneca it is only the perfect love, from which all
selfishness has been removed, that becomes identical with
friendship.

242

EPISTLES XXXIV., XXXV.

“ What else do you want of me, then?’’ you ask ;
the will is still mine.” Well, the will in this case
is almost everything, and not merely the half, as in
the proverb “A task once begun is half done.”
It is more than half, for the matter of which we
speak is determined by the soul.* Hence it is that
the larger part of goodness is the will to become
good. You know what I mean by a good man?
One who is complete, finished,—whom no constraint
or need can render bad. I see such a person in
you, if only you go steadily on and bend to your
task, and see to it that all your actions and words
harmonize and correspond with each other and are
stamped in the same mould. Ifa man’s acts are out
of harmony, his soul is crooked. Farewell.

XXXV. ON THE FRIENDSHIP OF
KINDRED MINDS

When I urge you so strongly to your studies, it
is my own interest which I am consulting ; I want
your friendship, and it cannot fall to my lot unless
you proceed, as you have begun, with the task of
developing yourself. For now, although you love
me, you are not yet my friend. “ But,” you reply,
“are these words of different meaning?”’ Nay,
more, they are totally unlike in meaning.’ A friend
loves you, of course ; but one who loves you is not in
every case your friend. Friendship, accordingly, is
always helpful, but love sometimes even does harm.
Try to perfect yourself, if for no other reason, in
order that you may learn how to love.

Hasten, therefore, in order that, while thus per-
fecting yourself for my benefit, you may not have

243

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

didiceris. Ego quidem percipio iam fructum, cum
mihi fingo uno nos animo futuros et quicquid aetati
meae vigoris abscessit, id ad me ex tua, quamquam

3 non multum abest, rediturum. Sed tamen re quoque
ipsa esse laetus volo. Venit ad nos ex iis, quos
amamus, etiam absentibus gaudium, sed id leve et
evanidum; conspectus et praesentia et conversatio
habet aliquid vivae voluptatis, utique si non tantum
quem velis, sed qualem velis, videas. Adfer itaque
te mihi ingens munus, et quo magis instes, cogita te

4 mortalem esse,mesenem. Propera ad me, sed ad te
prius. Profice et ante omnia hoc cura, ut constes
tibi. Quotiens experiri voles, an aliquid actum sit,
observa, an eadem hodie velis, quae heri. Mutatio
voluntatis indicat animum natare, aliubi atque aliubi
apparere, prout tulit ventus. Non vagatur, quod
fixum atque fundatum est. Istud sapienti perfecto
contingit, aliquatenus et proficienti provectoque.
Quid ergo interest? Hic commovetur quidem, non
tamen transit, sed suo loco nutat; ille ne com-
movetur quidem. VALE.

244

EPISTLE XXXV.

learned perfection for the benefit of another. To be
sure, I am already deriving some profit by imagining
that we two shall be of one mind, and that whatever
portion of my strength has yielded to age will return
to me from your strength, although there is not so
very much difference in our ages. But yet I wish to
rejoice in the accomplished fact. We feel a joy over
those whom we love, even when separated from them,
but such a joy is light and fleeting; the sight of a
man, and his presence, and communion with him,
afford something of living pleasure; this is true, at
any rate, if one not only sees the man one desires,
but the sort of man one desires. Give yourself to
me, therefore, as a gift of great price, and, that you
may strive the more, reflect that you yourself are
mortal, and that Iam old. Hasten to find me, but
hasten to find yourself first. Make progress, and,
before all else, endeavour to be consistent with your-
self. And when you would find out whether you
have accomplished anything, consider whether you
desire the same things to-day that you desired
yesterday. A shifting of the will indicates that the
mind is at sea, heading in various directions, accord-
ing to the course of the wind. But that which is
settled and solid does not wander from its place.
This is the blessed lot of the completely wise man,
and also, to a certain extent, of him who is progress-
ing and has made some headway. Now what is the
difference between these two classes of men? The
one is in motion, to be sure, but does not change its
position ; it merely tosses up and down where it is;
the other is not in motion at all. Farewell.

245

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XXXVI.

Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 Amicum tuum hortare, ut istos magno animo con-
temnat, qui illum obiurgant, quod umbram et otium
petierit, quod dignitatem suam destituerit, et cum
plus consequi posset, praetulerit quietem omnibus;
quam utiliter suum negotium gesserit, cotidie illis
ostentet.1_ Hi, quibus invidetur, non desinent trans-
ire; alii elidentur, alii cadent. Res est inquieta
felicitas; ipsa se exagitat. Movet cerebrum non
uno genere; alios in aliud irritat, hos in potentiam,
illos in luxuriam. Hos inflat, illos mollit et totos
resolvit.

2 “At bene aliquis illam fert.’’ Sic, quomodo
vinum. Itaque non est quod tibi isti persuadeant
eum esse felicem, qui a? multis obsidetur; sic ad
illum, quemadmodum ad lacum concurritur, quem
exhauriunt et turbant. ‘“ Nugatorium et inertem
vocant.’’ Scis quosdam perverse loqui et significare

3 contraria. Felicem vocabant; quid ergo? Erat?
Ne illud quidem curo, quod quibusdam nimis horridi
animi videtur et tetrici. Ariston aiebat malle se
adulescentem tristem quam hilarem et amabilem
turbae. Vinum enim bonum fieri, quod recens durum
et asperum visum est; non pati aetatem, quod in

1 ostentet P; ostendet pb; ostendit L. Hense suggests
ostendat.

2 quia Pb; quia L; qui p (defended by Gertz).

@ 7.¢., they are no more correct now, when they call him
a trifler, than they were before, when they called him happy.
» Aristo of Chios, Frag. 388 von Arnim.

246

EPISTLE XXXVI.

XXXVI. ON THE VALUE OF RETIREMENT

Encourage your friend to despise stout-heartedly
those who upbraid him because he has sought the
shade of retirement and has abdicated his career of
honours, and, though he might have attained more,
has preferred tranquillity to them all. Let him prove
daily to these detractors how wisely he has looked
out for his own interests. Those whom men envy
will continue to march past him ; some will be pushed
out of the ranks, and others will fall. Prosperity is
a turbulent thing; it torments itself. It stirs the
brain in more ways than one, goading men on to
various aims,—some to power, and others to high
living. Some it puffs up; others it slackens and
wholly enervates.

“ But,’ the retort comes, “so-and-so carries his
prosperity well.” Yes; just as he carries his liquor.
So you need not let this class of men persuade you
that one who is besieged by the crowd is happy ;
they run to him as crowds rush for a pool of water,
rendering it muddy while they drain it. But you
say: “ Men call our friend a trifler and a sluggard.”
There are men, you know, whose speech is awry,
who use the contrary® terms. They called hin
happy; what of it? Was he happy? Even the fact
that to certain persons he seems a man of a very
rough and gloomy cast of mind, does not trouble me.
Aristo® used to say that he preferred a youth of
stern disposition to one who was a Jolly fellow and
agreeable to the crowd. “For,” he added, “ wine
which, when new, seemed harsh and sour, becomes
good wine; but that which tasted well at the vintage

VOL. I 12 Q47

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

dolio placuit. Sine eum tristem appellent et inimi-
cum processibus suis; bene se dabit in vetustate
ipsa! tristitia, perseveret modo colere virtutem, per-
bibere liberalia studia, non illa, quibus perfundi satis

4 est, sed haec, quibus tingendus est animus. Hoc est
discendi tempus. “Quid ergo? Aliquod est, quo
non sit disceendum?”” Minime. Sed quemadmodum
omnibus annis studere honestum est, ita non omnibus
institui. Turpis et ridicula res est elementarius
senex ; luveni parandum, seni utendum est. Facies
ergo rem utilissimam tibi, si illum quam optimum fe-
ceris ; haec aiunt beneficia esse expetenda tribuenda-
que, non dubie primae sortis, quae tam dare prodest
quam accipere.

5 Denique nihil illi iam liberi est; spopondit.
Minus autem turpe est creditori quam spei bonae
decoquere. Ad illud aes alienum solvendum opus
est negotianti navigatione prospera, agrum colenti
ubertate eius, quam colit, terrae, caeli favore; ille

6 quod debet, sola potest voluntate persolvi. In
mores fortuna ius non habet. Hos disponat, ut quam
tranquillissimus ille animus ad perfectum veniat,
qui nec ablatum sibi quicquam sentit nec adiectum,
sed in eodem habitu est, quomodocumque res cedunt.

Cui sive adgeruntur vulgaria bona, supra res suas

1 ipsa MSS. ; ista Jugis, perhaps rightly.
248

EPISTLE XXXVI.

cannot stand age.” So let them call him stern and
a foe to his own advancement. It is just this stern-
ness that will go well when it is aged, provided only
that he continues to cherish virtue and to absorb
thoroughly the studies which make for culture,—not
those with which it is sufficient for a man to sprinkle
himself, but those in which the mind should be
steeped. Now is the time to learn. “What? Is
there any time when a man should not learn?” By
no means ; but just as it is creditable for every age
to study, so it is not creditable for every age to be
instructed. An old man learning his A B C is a
disgraceful and absurd object ; the young man must
store up, the old man must use. You will therefore
be doing a thing most helpful to yourself if you make
this friend of yours as good a man as possible ; those
kindnesses, they tell us, are to be both sought for
and bestowed, which benefit the giver no less than
the receiver; and they are unquestionably the best
kind.

Finally, he has no longer any freedom in the
matter; he has pledged his word. And it is less
disgraceful to compound with a creditor than to
compound with a promising future. To pay his debt
of money, the business man must have a prosperous
voyage, the farmer must have fruitful fields and
kindly weather; but the debt which your friend
owes can be completely paid by mere goodwill.
Fortune has no jurisdiction over character. Let him
so regulate his character that in perfect peace he
may bring to perfection that spirit within him which
feels neither loss nor gain, but remains in the same
attitude, no matter how things fall out. A spirit
like this, if it is heaped with worldly goods, rises
superior to its wealth; if, on the other hand, chance

249

7

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

eminet, sive aliquid ex istis vel omnia casus excussit,
minor non fit.

Si in Parthia natus esset, arcum infans statim
tenderet; si in Germania, protinus puer tenerum
hastile vibraret; si avorum nostrorum temporibus
fuisset, equitare et hostem comminus_percutere
didicisset. Haec singulis disciplina gentis suae suadet

Satque imperat. Quid ergo huic meditandum est?

10

Quod adversus omnia tela, quod adversus omne
hostium genus bene facit, mortem contemnere, quae
quin habeat aliquid in se terribile, ut et animos
nostros, quos in amorem sui natura formavit, offendat,
nemo duabitat: nec enim opus esset in id comparari
et acui, in quod instinctu quodam voluntario iremus,
sicut feruntur omnes ad conservationem sui. Nemo
discit, ut si necesse fuerit, aequo animo in rosa
iaceat, sed in hoc duratur, ut tormentis non summittat
fidem, ut si necesse fuerit, stans etiam aliquando
saucius pro vallo pervigilet et ne pilo quidem
incumbat, quia solet obrepere interim somnus in
aliquod adminiculum reclinatis.

Mors nullum habet incommodum; esse enim
debet aliquid,! cuius sit incommodum. Quod si
tanta cupiditas te longioris aevi tenet, cogita nihil
eorum, quae ab oculis abeunt et in rerum naturam,

1 aliquid editors ; aliquis MSS.

¢ As a Roman, living in an age when philosophy was
recommended and prescribed.

» 7.e., if death inspired no terror.

¢ And since after death we do not exist, death cannot
be harmful to us. Seneca has in mind the argument of
Epicurus (Diogenes Laértius, x. 124-5): ‘* Therefore the
most dread-inspiring of all evils, death, is nothing to us ;
for when we exist, death is not present to us, and when
death is present, then we do not exist. Therefore it does

250

EPISTLE XXXVI.

has stripped him of a part of his wealth, or even all,
it is not impaired.

If your friend had been born in Parthia, he would
have begun, when a child, to bend the bow; if in
Germany, he would forthwith have been brandishing
his slender spear; if he had been born in the days
of our forefathers, he would have learned to ride a
horse and smite his enemy hand to hand. These
are the occupations which the system of each race
recommends to the individual,—yes, prescribes for
him. To what, then, shall this friend ¢ of yours devote
his attention? I say, let him learn that which is
helpful against all weapons, against every kind of foe,
—contempt of death; because no one doubts that
death has in it something that inspires terror, so that
it shocks even our souls, which nature has so moulded
that they love their own existence ; for otherwise ”
there would be no need to prepare ourselves, and
to whet our courage, to face that towards which
we should move with a sort of voluntary instinct,
precisely as all men tend to preserve their existence.
No man learns a thing in order that, if necessity
arises, he may lie down with composure upon a bed
of roses; but he steels his courage to this end,—
that he may not surrender his plighted faith to
torture, and that, if need be, he may some day stay
out his watch in the trenches, even though wounded,
without even leaning on his spear; because sleep is
likely to creep over men who support themselves by
any prop whatsoever.

In death there is nothing harmful; for there must
exist something to which it is harmful.° And yet,
if you are possessed by so great a craving for a
longer life, reflect that none of the ebjects which
vanish from our gaze and are re-absorbed into the

251

1

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ex qua prodierunt ac mox processura sunt, recon-
duntur, consumi; desinunt ista, non pereunt. Et
mors, quam pertimescimus ac recusamus, intermittit
vitam, non eripit; veniet iterum, qui nos in lucem
reponat dies, quem multi recusarent, nisi oblitos
reduceret.

Sed postea diligentius docebo omnia, quae videntur
perire, mutari. Aequo animo debet rediturus exire.
Observa orbem rerum in se remeantium; videbis
nihil in hoc mundo extingui, sed vicibus descendere
ac surgere. <Aestas abit, sed alter illam annus
adducet ; hiemps cecidit,! referent illam sui menses ;
solem nox obruit, sed ipsam statim dies abiget.
Stellarum iste discursus quicquid praeterit repetit ;
pars caeli levatur assidue, pars mergitur. Denique
finem faciam, si hoc unum adiecero, nec infantes nec ?
pueros nec mente lapsos timere mortem et esse
turpissimum, si eam securitatem nobis ratio non
praestat, ad quam stultitia perducit. Vate.

XXXVII.
Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

Quod maximum vinculum est ad bonam mentem,
promisisti virum bonum, sacramento rogatus es.
Deridebit te, si quis tibi dixerit mollem esse militiam

1 cecidit MSS. ; Hense would read cecidit, sed.
2 Hense, following Madvig, would delete nec.

not concern either the living or the dead ; for to the living
it has no existence, and the dead do not themselves exist.”
Lucretius uses this argument, concluding it with (iii. 830) :
Nil igitur mors est ad nos neque pertinet hilum.

« For example, in Hp. Ixxvii.
252

EPISTLES XXXVI., XXXVII.

world of things, from which they have come forth
and are soon to come forth again, is annihilated ;
they merely end their course and do not perish.
And death, which we fear and shrink from, merely
interrupts life, but does not steal it away; the time
will return when we shall be restored to the light
of day; and many men would object to this, were
they not brought back in forgetfulness of the past.

But I mean to show you later,* with more
care, that everything which seems to perish merely
changes. Since you are destined to return, you ought
to depart with a tranquil mind. Mark how the
round of the universe repeats its course ; you will see
that no star in our firmament is extinguished, but that
they all set and rise in alternation. Summer has
gone, but another year will bring it again; winter
lies low, but will be restored by its own proper months;
night has overwhelmed the sun, but day will soon
rout the night again. The wandering stars retrace
their former courses; a part of the sky is rising un-
ceasingly, and a part is sinking. One word more,
and then I shall stop; infants, and boys, and those
who have gone mad, have no fear of death, and it
is most shameful if reason cannot afford us that
peace of mind to which they have been brought by
their folly. Farewell.

XXXVII. ON ALLEGIANCE TO VIRTUE

You have promised to be a good man; you have
enlisted under oath; that is the strongest chain
which will hold you to a sound understanding.
Any man will be but mocking you, if he declares that
this is an effeminate and easy kind of soldiering. I

253

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

et facilem. Nolo te decipi. Eadem_honestissimi
huius et illius turpissimi auctoramenti verba sunt:

2 “Uri, vinciri ferroque necari.” Ab illis, qui manus
harenae locant et edunt ac bibunt, quae per san-
guinem reddant, cavetur, ut ista vel inviti patiantur ;
a te, ut volens libensque patiaris. Illis licet arma
summittere, misericordiam populi temptare ; tu neque
summittes nec vitam rogabis. Recto tibi invictoque
moriendum est. Quid porro prodest paucos dies aut
annos lucrificare? Sine missione nascimur.

3.4.6 Quomoedo; ergo, ...inquis,.. ‘me.,,expediam.?/;,
Effugere non potes necessitates, potes vincere.

Fit via vi.}

Et hance tibi viam? dabit philosophia. Ad hanc te
confer, si vis salvus esse, si securus, si beatus, denique
si vis esse, quod est maximum, liber. Hoc contingere

4 aliter non potest. Humilis res est stultitia, abiecta,
sordida, servilis, multis affectibus et saevissimis
subiecta. Hos tam _ graves dominos, interdum
alternis imperantes, interdum pariter, dimittit a te
sapientia, quae sola libertas est. Una ad hanc fert
via, et quidem recta; non aberrabis. Vade certo
gradu ; si vis omnia tibi subicere, te subice rationi ;
multos reges si ratio te rexerit. Ab illa disces, quid

1 yi, omitted from the Seneca MSS., supplied from Vergil.
2 viam pPb; unam L ; viam una Gertz.

a He refers to the famous oath which the gladiator took
when he hired himself to the fighting-master ; uri, vinciri,
verberari, ferroque necari patior ; cf. Petronius, Sat. 117.
The oath is abbreviated in the text, probably by Seneca
himself, who paraphrases it in Hp. xxi. 23.

> Awaiting the signal of ‘thumbs up” or ‘‘tbhumbs down.”
Cp. Juvenal, iii. 36 verso pollice, vulqus Quem iubet, occidunt
populariter. ¢ Vergil, Aeneid, ii. 494.

@ In the language of Stoicism, dyuaGia, stultitia, *‘* folly,”
is the antithesis of codla, sapientia, ‘* wisdom.”

254

EPISTLE XXXVII.

will not have you deceived. The words of this most
honourable compact are the same as the words of
that most disgraceful one, to wit?%: “ Through burn-
ing, imprisonment, or death by the sword.’ From
the men who hire out their strength for the arena,
who eat and drink what they must pay for with
their blood, security is taken that they will endure
such trials even though they be unwilling ; from you,
that you will endure them willingly and with alacrity.
The gladiator may lower his weapon and test the
pity of the people ;8 but you will neither lower your
weapon nor beg for life. You must die erect and
unyielding. Moreover, what profit is it to gain a
few days or a few years? There is no discharge for
us from the moment we are born.

“Then how can I free myself?” you ask. You
cannot escape necessities, but you can overcome
them.

By force a way is made.¢

And this way will be afforded you by philosophy.
Betake yourself therefore to philosophy if you would
be safe, untroubled, happy, in fine, if you wish to be,
—and that is most important,—free. There is no
other way to attain this end. Folly @ is low, abject,
mean, slavish, and exposed to many of the cruellest
passions. These passions, which are heavy task-
masters, sometimes ruling by turns, and sometimes
together, can be banished from you by wisdom,
which is the only real freedom. ‘There is but one
path leading thither, and it is a straight path; you
will not go astray. Proceed with steady step, and
if you would have all things under your control, put
yourself under the control of reason; if reason be-
comes your ruler, you will become ruler over many.

299

]

bo

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

et quemadmodum adgredi debeas; non _ incides
rebus. Neminem mihi dabis, qui sciat, quomodo
quod vult, coeperit velle; non consilio adductus illo,
sed inpetu inpactus est. Non minus saepe fortuna
in nos incurrit quam nos in illam. Turpe est non
ire, sed ferri et subito in medio turbine rerum
stupentem quaerere: “ Huc ego quemadmodum
Vell? tae ALE:

XXXVITI.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

Merito exigis, ut hoc inter nos epistularum com-
mercium frequentemus. Plurimum proficit sermo,
quia minutatim inrepit animo. Disputationes prae-
paratae et effusae audiente populo plus habent
strepitus, minus familiaritatis. Philosophia bonum
consilium est ; consilium nemo clare dat. Aliquando
utendum est et illis, ut ita dicam, contionibus, ubi
qui dubitat, impellendus est; ubi vero non hoc
agendum est, ut velit discere, sed ut discat, ad haec
submissiora verba veniendum est. Facilius intrant
et haerent; nec enim multis opus est, sed efficacibus.

Seminis modo spargenda sunt, quod quamvis sit
exiguum, cum occupavit idoneum locum, vires suas
explicat et ex minimo in maximos auctus diffunditur,

1 Georges conjectures clamitat for clare dat, perhaps
rightly.

256

EPISTLES XXXVII., XXXVIII.

You will learn from her what you should undertake,
and how it should be done; you will not blunder
into things. You can show me no man who knows
how he began to crave that which he craves. He
has not been led to that pass by forethought; he
has been driven to it by impulse. Fortune attacks
us as often as we attack Fortune. It is disgraceful,
instead of proceeding ahead, to be carried along,
and then suddenly, amid the whirlpool of events, to
ask in a dazed way: “How did I get into this
econdition?”’ Farewell.

XXXVIII. ON QUIET CONVERSATION

You are right when you urge that we increase our
mutual traffic in letters. But the greatest benefit
is to be derived from conversation, because it creeps
by degrees into the soul. Lectures prepared before-
hand and spouted in the presence of a throng have
in them more noise but less intimacy. Philosophy
is good advice; and no one can give advice at the
top of his lungs. Of course we must sometimes also
make use of these harangues, if | may so call them,
when a doubting member needs to be spurred on;
but when the aim is to make a man learn, and not
merely to make him wish to learn, we must have
recourse to the low-toned words of conversation.
They enter more easily, and stick in the memory ;
for we do not need many words, but, rather, effective
words.

Words should be scattered like seed; no matter
how small the seed may be, if it has once found
favourable ground, it unfolds its strength and from
an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth.

257

1

to

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Idem facit ratio; non late patet, si aspicias; in
opere crescit. Pauca sunt, quae dicuntur, sed si
illa animus bene excepit, convalescunt et exurgunt.
Eadem est, inquam, praeceptorum condicio quae
seminum ; multum efficiunt, et angusta_ sunt.
Tantum, ut dixi, idonea mens capiat! illa et in se
trahat. Multa invicem et ipsa generabit et plus
reddet quam acceperit. Vate.

b. 9. &.4 2.
Seneca Lycinio svo SALVTEM

Commentarios, quos desideras, diligenter ordina-
tos et in angustum coactos ego vero conponam. Sed
vide, ne plus profutura sit ratio ordinaria quam haec,
quae nunc vulgo breviarium dicitur, olim cum latine
Joqueremur, summarium vocabatur. Illa res discenti
magis necessaria est, haec scienti. Illa enim docet,
haec admonet. Sed utriusque rei tibi copiam faciam.
Tu a me non est quod illum aut illum exigas; qui
notorem dat, ignotus est. Scribam ergo quod vis,

1 capiat later MSS. ; rapiat pLPb.

« The regular method of studying philosophy was, as we
infer from this letter, a course of reading in the philosophers.
Seneca deprecates the use of the ‘‘ cram,” which is only a
memory-help, as a substitute for reading, on the ground that
by its use one does not, in the first place, learn the subject,
and, in the second place and chiefly, that one loses the
inspiration to be derived by direct contact with great
thinkers. The request of Lucilius for a cram thus suggests
the main topic of the letter, which is taken up in the
second paragraph.

258

EPISTLES XXXVIII., XXXIX.

Reason grows in the same way; it is not large to
the outward view, but increases as it does its work.
Few words are spoken; but if the mind has truly
caught them, they come into their strength and
spring up. Yes, precepts and seeds have the same
quality ; they produce much, and yet they are slight
things. Only, as I said, let a favourable mind
receive and assimilate them. Then of itself the
mind also will produce bounteously in its turn, giving
back more than it has received. Farewell.

XXXIX. ON NOBLE ASPIRATIONS

I shall indeed arrange for you, in careful order
and narrow compass, the notes which you request.
But consider whether you may not get more help
from the customary method@ than from that which
is now commonly called a “ breviary,’ though in the
good old days, when real Latin was spoken, it was
called a “summary.” ® The former is more necessary
to one who is learning a subject, the latter to one
who knows it. For oie one teaches, the other stirs
the memory. But I shall give you abundant oppor-
tunity for both. A man like you should not ask me
for this authority or that; he who furnishes a voucher
for his statements argues himself unknown. [ shall
therefore write exactly what you wish, but I shall

> ¢.e., the word breviarium, ‘‘ abridgment,” ‘* abstract,”
has displaced the better word summarium, ‘*‘ outline of chief
points.”

¢ 7.¢e., to do the reading and to review it by means of the
summary. The reading will enable Lucilius to identify for
himself the authors of the several passages or doctrines.

259

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sed meo more; interim multos habes, quorum scripta
nescio an satis ordinent. Sume in manus indicem
philosophorum; haec ipsa res expergisci te coget,
si videris, quam multi tibi laboraverint. Concupisces
et ipse ex illis unus esse. Habet enim hoc optimum
in se generosus animus, quod concitatur ad honesta.
Neminem excelsi ingenii virum humilia delectant
et sordida; magnarum rerum species ad se vocat et
3 extollit. Quemadmodum flamma surgit in rectum,
iacere ac deprimi non potest, non magis quam
quiescere ; ita noster animus in motu est, eo mobilior
et actuosior, quo vehementior fuerit. Sed felix, qui
ad meliora hunec inpetum dedit! Ponet se extra
ius dicionemque fortunae. Secunda temperabit,
adversa comminuet et aliis admiranda despiciet.
4 Magni animi est magna contemnere ac mediocria
malle quam nimia. Illa enim utilia vitaliaque
sunt; at haec eo, quod superfluunt, nocent. Sic
segetem nimia sternit ubertas, sic rami nimio! onere
franguntur, sic ad maturitatem non pervenit nimia
fecunditas. Idem animis quoque evenit, quos
inmoderata felicitas rumpit, qua non tantum in
5 aliorum iniuriam, sed etiam in suam utuntur. Qui
hostis in quemquam tam contumeliosus fuit quam
in quosdam voluptates suae sunt? Quorum in-

potentiae atque insanae libidini ob hoc unum possis

1 nimio added by Gertz.
260

EPISTLE XXXIX.

do it in my own way; until then, you have many
authors whose works will presumably keep your
ideas sufficiently in order. Pick up the list of the
philosophers; that very act will compel you to wake
up, when you see how many men have been working
for your benefit. You will desire eagerly to be one
of them yourself. For this is the most excellent
quality that the noble soul has within itself, that it
can be roused to honourable things.

No man of exalted gifts is pleased with that
which is low and mean; the vision of great achieve-
ment summons him and uplifts him. Just as the
flame springs straight into the air and cannot be
cabined or kept down any more than it can repose
in quiet, so our soul is always in motion, and the
more ardent it is, the greater its motion and activity.
But happy is the man who has given it this impulse
toward better things! He will place himself beyond
the jurisdiction of chance; he will wisely control
prosperity ; he will lessen adversity, and will despise
what others hold in admiration. It is the quality
of a great soul to scorn great things and to prefer
that which is ordinary rather than that which is too
great. For the one condition is useful and life-
giving; but the other does harm just because it is
excessive. Similarly, too rich a soil makes the grain
fall flat, branches break down under too heavy a load,
excessive productiveness does not bring fruit to
ripeness. This is the case with the soul also; for
it is ruined by uncontrolled prosperity, which is
used not only to the detriment of others, but also
to the detriment of itself. What enemy was ever
so insolent to any opponent as are their pleasures to
certain men? The only excuse that we can allow
for the incontinence and mad lust of these men is

261

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ignoscere, quod quae fecere patiuntur. Nec inmerito
hic illos furor vexat; necesse est enim in inmensum
exeat cupiditas, quae naturalem modum transilit.
Ille enim habet suum finem, inania et ex libidine

§ orta sine termino sunt. Necessaria metitur utilitas ;
supervacua quo redigis? Voluptatibus itaque se
mergunt, quibus in consuetudinem adductis carere
non possunt, et ob hoc miserrimi sunt, quod eo
pervenerunt, ut illis quae supervacua fuerant, facta
sint necessaria. Serviunt itaque voluptatibus, non
fruuntur, et mala sua, quod malorum ultimum est,
et! amant. Tunc autem est consummata infelicitas,
ubi turpia non solum delectant, sed etiam placent,
et desinit esse remedio locus, ubi quae fuerant vitia,
mores sunt. VALE.

XL

Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Quod frequenter mihi scribis, gratias ago. Nam
quo uno modo potes, te mihi ostendis. Numquam
epistulam tuam accipio, ut non protinus una simus.
Si imagines nobis amicorum absentium iucundae
sunt, quae memoriam renovant et desiderium ? falso
atque inani solacio levant, quanto iucundiores sunt
litterae, quae vera amici absentis vestigia, veras notas

1 et LPb; omitted by p.
2 absentiae, after desiderium, is bracketed by Hense,
following Gemoll.

2 i.¢., their pleasures. These ills, by being cultivated,
become vices.

262

EPISTLES XXXIX., XL.

the fact that they suffer the evils which they have
inflicted upon others. And they are rightly harassed
by this madness, because desire must have unbounded
space for its excursions, if it transgresses nature’s
mean. For this has its bounds, but waywardness
and the acts that spring from wilful lust are without
boundaries. Utility measures our needs; but by
what standard can you check the superfluous? It
is for this reason that men sink themselves in
pleasures, and they cannot do without them when
once they have become accustomed to them, and for
this reason they are most wretched, because they
have reached such a pass that what was once super-
fluous to them has become indispensable. And so
they are the slaves of their pleasures instead of
enjoying them; they even love their own ills,7—and
that is the worst ill of all! Then it is that the
height of unhappiness is reached, when men are not
only attracted, but even pleased, by shameful things,
and when there is no longer any room for a cure,
now that those things which once were vices have
become habits. Farewell.

XL. ON THE PROPER STYLE FOR A
PHILOSOPHER’S DISCOURSE

I thank you for writing to me so often; for you
are revealing your real self to me in the only way
you can. I never receive a letter from you without
being in your company forthwith. If the pictures
of our absent friends are pleasing to us, though they
only refresh the memory and lighten our longing by
a solace that is unreal and unsubstantial, how much
more pleasant is a letter, which brings us real traces,

263

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

adferunt? Nam quod in conspectu dulcissimum est,
id amici manus epistulae inpressa praestat, agnoscere.
2 Audisse te scribis Serapionem philosophum, cum
istue adplicuisset : “ Solet magno cursu verba con-
vellere, quae non effundit una, sed premit et urguet.
Plura enim veniunt quam quibus vox una sufficiat.”’
Hoe non probo in philosopho, cuius pronuntiatio
quoque, sicut vita, debet esse conposita ; nihil autem
ordinatum est, quod praecipitatur et properat. Itaque
oratio illa apud Homerum concitata et sine inter-
missione in morem nivis superveniens iuveniori !
oratori data est, lenis et melle dulcior seni profluit.
3 Sic itaque habe, istam? vim dicendi rapidam atque
abundantem aptiorem esse circulanti quam agenti
rem magnam ac seriam docentique. Aeque stillare
illum nolo quam currere; nec extendat aures nec
obruat. Nam illa quoque inopia et exilitas minus
intentum auditorem habet taedio interruptae tardi-
tatis, facilius tamen insidit, quod exspectatur, quam
quod praetervolat. Denique tradere homines disci-
pulis praecepta dicuntur; non traditur quod fugit.
Adice nunc, quod quae veritati operam dat oratio,
inconposita esse debet et simplex. Haec popularis

wwe

1 iuveniori Hense ; iuveni Haupt ; omitted in MSS.
2 habe istam later MSS. ; habe ut istam pLPb.

« This person cannot be identified.

> The explanation of Professor Summers seems sound,
that the metaphor is taken from a mountain-torrent. Com-
pare the description of Cratinus’ style in Aristophanes, Ach.
526, or that of Pindar in Horace, Od. iv. 2. 5 ff.

¢ Iliad, iii. 222 (Odysseus), and i. 249 (Nestor).
264

EPISTLE XL.

real evidences, of an absent friend! For that which
is sweetest when we meet face to face is afforded
by the impress of a friend’s hand upon his letter,
—recognition.

You write me that you heard a lecture by the
philosopher Serapio,* when he landed at your present
place of residence. “He is wont,” you say, “to
wrench up his words with a mighty rush, and he
does not let them flow forth one by one, but makes
them crowd and dash upon each other.’ For the
words come in such quantity that a single voice is
inadequate to utter them.’ I do not approve of this
in a philosopher; his speech, like his life, should
be composed ; and nothing that rushes headlong and
is hurried is well ordered. That is why, in Homer,
the rapid style, which sweeps down without a break
like a snow-squall, is assigned to the younger speaker ;
from the old man eloquence flows gently, sweeter
than honey.°¢

Therefore, mark my words; that forceful manner
of speech, rapid and copious, is more suited to a
mountebank than to a man who is discussing and
teaching an important and serious subject. But I
object just as strongly that he should drip out his
words as that he should go at top speed ; he should
neither keep the ear on the stretch, nor deafen it.
For that poverty-stricken and thin-spun style also
makes the audience less attentive because they are
weary of its stammering slowness ; nevertheless, the
word which has been long awaited sinks in more
easily than the word which flits past us on the wing.
Finally, people speak of “handing down”’ precepts
to their pupils ; but one is not “ handing down” that
which eludes the grasp. Besides, speech that deals
with the truth should be unadorned and plain. This

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rHE EPISTLES OF SENECA

nihil habet veri; movere vult turbam et inconsultas
aures inpetu rapere, tractandam se non _praebet,
aufertur. Quomodo autem regere potest, quae regi
non potest ? Quid, quod haec oratio, quae sanandis
mentibus adhibetur, descendere in nos debet?
Remedia non prosunt, nisi inmorantur.

5 Multum praeterea habet inanitatis et vani, plus
sonat quam valet. Lenienda sunt, quae me exterrent,
conpescenda, quae inritant, discutienda, quae fallunt,
inhibenda luxuria, corripienda avaritia ; quid horum
raptim potest fieri? Quis medicus aegros in transitu
curat? Quid, quod ne voluptatem quidem ullam
habet talis verborum sine dilectu ruentium strepitus ?

6 Sed ut pleraque, quae fieri posse non crederes, cogno-
visse satis est, ita istos, qui verba exercuerunt, abunde
est semel audisse. Quid enim quis discere, quid
imitari velit? Quid de eorum animo iudicet, quorum
oratio perturbata et inmissa est nec potest reprimi ?

7 Quemadmodum per proclive currentium non _ ubi
visum est, gradus sistitur, sed incitato corporis
pondere se rapit! ac longius quam voluit effertur ; sic
ista dicendi celeritas nec in sua potestate est nec
satis decora philosophiae, quae ponere debet verba,
non proicere, et pedetemptim procedere.

1 se rapit later MSS. ; serpit LPb; serpitur p.

# Seneca’s phrase, quae fieri posse non crederes, has been
interpreted as a definition of tapddota. It is more probable,
however, that he is comparing with the juggler’s tricks the
verbal performances of certain lecturers, whose jargon one
marvels at but does not care to hear again.

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EPISTLE XL.

popular style has nothing to do with the truth; its
aim is to impress the common herd, to ravish heed-
less ears by its speed; it does not offer itself for
discussion, but snatches itself away from discussion.
But how can that speech govern others which can-
not itself be governed? May I not also remark
that all speech which is employed for the purpose
of healing our minds, ought to sink into us?
Remedies do not avail unless they remain in the
system.

Besides, this sort of speech contains a great deal
of sheer emptiness; it has more sound than power.
My terrors should be quieted, my irritations soothed,
my illusions shaken off, my indulgences checked, my
greed rebuked. And which of these cures can be
brought about in a hurry? What physician can
heal his patient on a flying visit? May I add
that such a jargon of confused and ill-chosen words
cannot afford pleasure, either? No; but just as
you are well satisfied, in the majority of cases, to
have seen through tricks which you did not think
could possibly be done,® so in the case of these
word-gymnasts,—to have heard them once is amply
sufficient. For what can a man desire to learn or to
imitate inthem? What is he to think of their souls,
when their speech is sent into the charge in utter
disorder, and cannot be kept in hand? Just as,
when you run down hill, you cannot stop at the
point where you had decided to stop, but your steps
are carried along by the momentum of your body and
are borne beyond the place where you wished to halt ;
so this speed of speech has no control over itself,
nor is it seemly for philosophy; since philosophy
should carefully place her words, not fling them out,
and should proceed step by step.

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8 “Quid ergo? Non aliquando et insurget ?””
Quidni? Sed salva dignitate morum, quam violenta
ista et nimia vis exuit. Habeat vires magnas,
moderatas tamen; perennis sit unda, non torrens.
Vix oratori permiserim talem dicendi velocitatem
inrevocabilem ac sine lege vadentem. Quemad-
modum enim iudex subsequi poterit aliquando
etiam inperitus et rudis? ‘Tum quoque, cum illum
aut ostentatio abstulerit aut affectus inpotens sui,’
tantum festinet atque ingerat, quantum aures pati
possunt.

9 Recte ergo facies, si non videris istos, qui quantum
dicant, non quemadmodum quaerunt, et ipse malueris,
si necesse est, ut P. Vinicius? dicere, qui titubat.°
Cum quaereretur, quomodo P. Vinicius diceret,
Asellius ait: “ Tractim.” Nam Geminus Varius ait:
“ Quomodo istum disertum dicatis nescio ; tria verba
non potest iungere.” Quidni malis tu sic dicere,

10 quomodo Vinicius ? Aliquis tam insulsus intervenerit
quam qui illi singula verba vellenti, tamquam dictaret,
non diceret, ait: “Dic, numquid‘ dicas.’ Nam Q.
Hateri® cursum, suis temporibus oratoris celeberrimi,
longe abesse ab homine sano volo; numquam dubi-
tavit, numquam intermisit ; semel incipiebat, semel
desinebat.

1 affectus impotens sui Muretus ; effectus impetus sui MSS.

2 wt P. Vinicius Madvig ; vel p. vinictum MSS. ; velut P.
Vinicius Lipsius.

3 gui titubat Capps ; qui itaque MSS.

4 numquid Buecheler ; numquam MSS.

5 nam Q. Hateri Lipsius; namque hateri pP; namq. aetheri
L ; namque hereri b.

268

EPISTLE XL.

“What then?” you say; “should not philosophy
sometimes take a loftier tone?’’ Of course she
should ; but dignity of character should be preserved,
and this is stripped away by such violent and exces-
sive force. Let philosophy possess great forces, but
kept well under control; let her stream flow un-
ceasingly, but never become a torrent. And I should
hardly allow even to an orator a rapidity of speech
like this, which cannot be called back, which goes
lawlessly ahead ; for how could it be followed by
jurors, who are often inexperienced and untrained ?
Even when the orator is carried away by his desire
to show off his powers, or by uncontrollable emotion,
even then he should not quicken his pace and heap
up words to an extent greater than the ear can endure.

You will be acting rightly, therefore, if you do
not regard those men who seek how much they may
say, rather than how they shall say it, and if for
yourself you choose, provided a choice must be
made, to speak as Publius Vinicius the stammerer
does. When Asellius was asked how Vinicius spoke,
he replied: “ Gradually”! (It was a remark of
Geminus Varius, by the way: “I don’t see how you
can call that man ‘eloquent’; why, he can’t get out
three words together.”’) Why, then, should you not
choose to speak as Vinicius does? Though of course
some wag may cross your path, like the person who
said, when Vinicius was dragging out his words one
by one, as if he were dictating and not speaking .
“Say, haven’t you anything to say?” And yet that
were the better choice, for the rapidity of Quintus
Haterius, the most famous orator of his age, is, in
my opinion, to be avoided by a man of sense.
Haterius never hesitated, never paused; he made
only one start, and only one stop.

269

11

13

14

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Quaedam tamen et nationibus puto magis aut
minus convenire ; in Graecis hane licentiam tuleris ;
nos etiam cum scribimus, interpungere adsuevimus.
Cicero quoque noster, a quo Romana eloquentia
exiluit, gradarius fuit. Romanus sermo magis se
circumspicit et aestimat praebetque aestimandum.
Fabianus, vir egregius et vita et scientia et, quod
post ista est, eloquentia quoque, disputabat expedite
magis quam concitate, ut posses dicere facilitatem
esse illam, non celeritatem. Hance ego in viro
sapiente recipio, non exigo; ut oratio eius sine
impedimento exeat, proferatur tamen malo quam
profluat.

Eo autem magis te deterreo ab isto morbo, quod
non potest tibi ista res contingere aliter quam si te
pudere desierit ; perfrices frontem oportet et te ipse
non audias. Multa enim inobservatus ille cursus
feret, quae reprehendere velis. Non potest, inquam,
tibi contingere res ista salva verecundia. Praeterea
exercitatione opus est cotidiana et a rebus studium
transferendum est ad verba. Haec autem etiam
aderunt et poterunt sine ullo tuo labore decur-
rere, tamen temperanda sunt. Nam quemadmodum
sapienti viro incessus modestior convenit, ita oratio
pressa, non audax. Summa ergo summarum haec
erit: tardilocum esse te iubeo. VALE.

« The Greek texts were still written without separation
of the words, in contrast with the Roman.

>» Gradarius may be contrasted with tolutarius, “ trotter.”’
The word might also mean one who walks with dignified
step, as in a religious procession.

¢ Of. Martial, xi. 27.7 aut cum perfricuit frontem posuit-
que pudorem. After a violent rubbing, the face would not
show blushes.

270

EPISTLE XL.

However, I suppose that certain styles of speech
are more or less suitable to nations also; in a Greek
you can put up with the unrestrained style, but we
Romans, even when writing, have become accustomed
to separate our words.* And our compatriot Cicero,
with whom Roman oratory sprang into prominence,
was also a slow pacer.2. The Roman language is
more inclined to take stock of itself, to weigh, and to
offer something worth weighing. Fabianus, a man
noteworthy because of his life, his knowledge, and,
less important than either of these, his eloquence also,
used to discuss a subject with dispatch rather than
with haste ; hence you might call it ease rather than
speed. I approve this quality in the wise man; but
I do not demand it; only let his speech proceed
unhampered, though I prefer that it should be
deliberately uttered rather than spouted.

However, I have this further reason for frightening
you away from the latter malady, namely, that you
could only be successful in practising this style by
losing your sense of modesty; you would have
to rub all shame from your countenance,° and refuse
to hear yourself speak. For that heedless flow will
carry with it many expressions which you would
wish to criticize. And, I repeat, you could not
attain it and at the same time preserve your sense
of shame. Moreover, you would need to practise
every day, and transfer your attention from subject
matter to words. But words, even if they came to
you readily and flowed without any exertion on your
part, yet would have to be kept under control. For
just as a less ostentatious gait becomes a philosopher,
so does a restrained style of speech, far removed from
boldness. Therefore, the ultimate kernel of my re-
marks is this: I bid you be slow of speech. Farewell.

MOE. 1 K 271

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

DO HP
Seneca LyciLio svO SALVTEM

1 Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem, si, ut scribis,
perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est
optare, cum possis a te impetrare. Non sunt ad
caelum elevandae inanus nec exorandus aedituus, ut
nos ad aurem simulacri, quasi magis exaudiri possimus,
admittat ; prope est a te deus, tecum est, intus est.

2 Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos spiritus sedet, malorum
bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos. Hic
prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat. Bonus
vero vir sine deo nemo est; an potest aliquis supra
fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus exurgere? TIlle dat
consilia magnifica et erecta. In unoquoque virorum
bonorum

Quis deus incertum est, habitat deus.

3 Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam
altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum
caeli ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens
obtentu,! illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et
admiratio umbrae in aperto tam densae atque con-
tinuae fidem tibi numinis faciet.? Si quis specus saxis
penitus exesis montem suspenderit, non manu factus,

1 summovens obtentu Hense ; swmmoventus Pp; summovens
LMP; sub movens b.
* faciet Madvig ; facit et pLPb; faciet et later MSS.

272

EPISTLE XLI.

XLI. ON THE GOD WITHIN US

You are doing an excellent thing, one which will
be wholesome for you, if, as you write me, you are
persisting in your effort to attain sound understanding;
it is foolish to pray for this when you can acquire it
from yourself. We do not need to uplift our hands
towards heaven, or to beg the keeper of a temple to
let us approach his idol’s ear, as if in this way our
prayers were more likely to be heard. God is near
you, he is with you, he is within you. This is what
I mean, Lucilius: a holy spirit indwells within us.
one who marks our good and bad deeds, and is om
guardian. As we treat this spirit, so are we treated
by it. Indeed, no man can be good without the
help of God. Can one rise superior to fortune unless
God helps him to rise? He it is that gives noble
and upright counsel. In each good man

A god doth dwell, but what god know we not.¢

If ever you have come upon a grove that is full of
ancient trees which have grown to an unusual height,
shutting out a view of the sky by a veil of pleached
and intertwining branches, then the loftiness of the
forest, the seclusion of the spot, and your marvel at
the thick unbroken shade in the midst of the open
spaces, will prove to you the presence of deity. Or
if a cave, made by the deep crumbling of the rocks,
holds up a mountain on its arch, a place not built

* Vergil, Aeneid, viii. 352,
Hoc nemus, hunc, inquit, frondoso vertice collem,
Quis deus incertum est, habitat deus,
and cf. Quintilian, i. 10. 88, where he is speaking of Ennius,
whom ‘‘sicut sacros vetustate lucos adoremus, in quibus
grandia et antiqua robora iam non tantam habent speciem
quantam religionem.”

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sed naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus,
animum tuum quadam religionis suspicione percutiet.
Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur; subita ex
abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur
aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel

4 opacitas vel inmensa altitudo sacravit. Si hominem
videris interritum periculis, intactum cupiditatibus,
inter adversa felicem, in mediis tempestatibus placi-
dum, ex superiore loco homines videntem, ex aequo
deos, non subibit te veneratio eius? Non dices:
“Ista res maior est altiorque quam ut credi similis
huic, in quo est, corpusculo possit? Vis isto divina

5 descendit.”” Animum excellentem, moderatum, omnia
tamquam minora transeuntem, quicquid timemus
optamusque ridentem, caelestis potentia agitat. Non
potest res tanta sine adminiculo numinis stare. Itaque
maiore sui parte illic est, unde descendit. Quemad-
modum radii solis contingunt quidem terram, sed ibi
sunt, unde mittuntur; sic animus magnus ac sacer
et in hoc demissus, ut propius! divina nossemus,
conversatur quidem nobiscum, sed haeret origini
suae ; illinc pendet, illuc spectat ac nititur, nostris
tamquam melior interest.

6 Quis est ergo hic animus? Qui nullo bono nisi

1 After propius pLPbM add quidem. Hense would prefer
quiddam divini.
274

EPISTLE XLI.

with hands but hollowed out into such spaciousness
by natural causes, your soul will be deeply moved
by a certain intimation of the existence of God. We
worship the sources of mighty rivers; we erect altars
at places where great streams burst suddenly from
hidden sources; we adore springs of hot water as
divine, and consecrate certain pools because of their
dark waters or their immeasurable depth. If you
see a man who is unterrified in the midst of dangers,
untouched by desires, happy in adversity, peaceful
amid the storm, who looks down upon men from a
higher plane, and views the gods on a footing of
equality, will not a feeling of reverence for him steal
over you? Will you not say: “This quality is too
great and too lofty to be regarded as resembling this
petty body in which it dwells? A divine power
has descended upon that man.” When a soul rises
superior to other souls, when it is under control,
when it passes through every experience as if it were
of small account, when it smiles at our fears and at
our prayers, it is stirred by a force from heaven. A
thing like this cannot stand upright unless it be
propped by the divine. Therefore, a greater part of
it abides in that place from whence it came down to
earth. Just as the rays of the sun do indeed touch
the earth, but still abide at the source from which
they are sent; even so the great and hallowed soul,
which has come down in order that we may have a
nearer knowledge of divinity, does indeed associate
with us, but still cleaves to its origin; on that source
it depends, thither it turns its gaze and strives to go,
and it concerns itself with our doings only as a

being superior to ourselves.
What, then, is such a soul? One which is re-
splendent with no external good, but only with its
275

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

suo nitet; quid enim est stultius quam in homine
aliena laudare? Quid eo dementius, qui ea miratur,
quae ad alium transferri protinus possunt? Non
faciunt meliorem equum aurei freni. Aliter leo
aurata iuba mittitur, dum contractatur et ad patien-
tiam recipiendi ornamenti cogitur fatigatus, aliter
incultus, integri spiritus; hic scilicet inpetu acer,
qualem illum natura esse voluit, speciosus ex horrido,
cuius hic decor est, non sine timore aspici, praefertur
illi languido et bratteato.

7 Nemo gloriari nisi suo debet. Vitem laudamus,
si fructu palmites onerat, si ipsa pondere! ad terram
eorum, quae tulit, adminicula deducit ; num quis huic
illam praeferret vitem, cui aureae uvae, aurea folia
dependent? Propria virtus est in vite fertilitas, in
homine quoque id laudandum est, quod ipsius est.
Familiam formosam habet et domum pulchram,multum
serit, multum fenerat; nihil horum in ipso est, sed

8 circa ipsum. Lauda in illo, quod nec eripi potest nec
dari, quod proprium hominis est. Quaeris quid sit?
Animus et ratio in animo perfecta. Rationale enim
animal est homo. Consummatur itaque bonum eius,

9 si id inplevit, cui nascitur. Quid est autem, quod
ab illo ratio haec exigat? Rem facillimam, secundum

1 pondere Erasmus ; pondera MSS.

@ The spectators of the fight, which is to take place
between the two lions, applaud the wild lion and bet on him.

276

EPISTLE XLI.

own. For what is more foolish than to praise in a
man the qualities which come from without? And
what is more insane than to marvel at characteristics
which may at the next instant be passed on to
someone else? A golden bit does not make a
better horse. The lion with gilded mane, in process
of being trained and forced by weariness to endure
the decoration, is sent into the arena in quite a
different way from the wild lion whose spirit is un-
broken; the latter, indeed, bold in his attack, as
nature wished him to be, impressive because of his
wild appearance,—and it is his glory that none can
look upon him without fear,—is favoured? in pre-
ference to the other lion, that languid and gilded
brute.

No man ought to glory except in that which is
his own. We praise a vine if it makes the shoots
teem with increase, if by its weight it bends to the
ground the very poles which hold its fruit; would
any man prefer to this vine one from which golden
grapes and golden leaves hang down? In a vine
the virtue peculiarly its own is fertility; in man also
we should praise that which is his own. Suppose
that he has a retinue of comely slaves and a beautiful
house, that his farm is large and large his income;
none of these things is in the man himself; they
are all on the outside. Praise the quality in him
which cannot be given or snatched away, that which
is the peculiar property of the man. Do you ask
what this is? It is soul, and reason brought to
perfection in the soul. For man is a reasoning
animal. Therefore, man’s highest good is attained,
if he has fulfilled the good for which nature designed
him at birth. And what is it which this reason
demands of him? The easiest thing in the world,

277

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

naturam suam vivere. Sed hanc difficilem facit
communis insania; in vitia alter alterum trudimus.
Quomodo autem revocari ad salutem possunt, quos

nemo retinet, populus inpellit? Va e.

XLII.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Iam tibi iste persuasit virum se bonum esse?
Atqui vir bonus tam cito nec fieri potest nec intel-
legi. Scis quem nunc virum bonum dicam? Huius
secundae notae. Nam ille alter fortasse tamquam
phoenix semel anno quingentesimo nascitur. Nec
est mirum ex intervallo magna generari; mediocria
et in turbam nascentia saepe fortuna producit, eximia
vero ipsa raritate commendat.

2 Sed iste multum adhuc abest ab eo, quod pro-
fitetur. Et si sciret, quid esset vir bonus, nondum
esse se crederet, fortasse etiam fieri posse desperaret.
“At male existimat de malis.” Hoc etiam mali
faciunt, nec ulla maior poena nequitiae est quam

3 quod sibi ac suis displicet. “ At odit eos, qui subita

et magna potentia inpotenter utuntur.’” Idem faciet,

@ Seneca doubtless has in mind the famous passage of
Simonides, dvdp’ dyaSov wer adnOds yevéo Oar xaderdv, discussed
by Plato, Protagoras, 339 a.

278

EPISTLES XLI., XLII.

—to live in accordance with his own nature. But
this is turned into a hard task by the general mad-
ness of mankind; we push one another into vice.
And how can a man be recalled to salvation, when
he has none to restrain him, and all mankind to urge
him on? Farewell.

XLII. ON VALUES

Has that friend of yours already made you believe
that he isa good man? And yet it is impossible in so
short a time for one either to become good or be
known as such. Do you know what kind of man |
now mean when I speak of “a good man”? I mean
one of the second grade, like your friend. For one
of the first class perhaps springs into existence, like
the phoenix, only once in five hundred years. And
it is not surprising, either, that greatness develops
only at long intervals; Fortune often brings into being
commonplace powers, which are born to please the
mob; but she holds up for our approval that which
is extraordinary by the very fact that she makes it
rare.

This man, however, of whom you spoke, is still far
from the state which he professes to have reached.
And if he knew what it meant to be “a good man,”
he would not yet believe himself such; perhaps he
would even despair of his ability to become good.
« But,” you say, “he thinks ill of evil men.” Well,
so do evil men themselves; and there is no worse
penalty for vice than the fact that it is dissatisfied
with itself and all its fellows. ‘“ But he hates those
who make an ungoverned use of great power
suddenly acquired.” I retort that he will do the

VOL. I K 2 279

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

cum idem potuerit. Multorum, quia inbecilla sunt,
latent vitia, non minus ausura, cum illis vires suae
placuerint, quam illa, quae iam felicitas aperuit.

4 Instrumenta illis explicandae nequitiae desunt. Sic
tuto serpens etiam pestifera tractatur, dum riget
frigore; non desunt tunc illi venena, sed torpent.
Multorum crudelitas et ambitio et luxuria, ut paria
pessimis audeat, fortunae favore deficitur. Eadem
velle sic subinde cognosces+: da posse, quantum
volunt.

5 Meministi, cum quendam adfirmares esse in tua
potestate, dixisse me volaticum esse ac levem et te
non pedem eius tenere,sed pennam. Mentitus sum?
Pluma tenebatur, quam remisit et fugit. Scis, quos
postea tibi exhibuerit ludos, quam multa in caput
suum casura temptaverit. Non videbat se per
aliorum pericula in suum ruere. Non cogitabat,
quam onerosa essent, quae petebat, etiam si super-
vacua non essent.

6 Hoc itaque in his, quae adfectamus, ad quae
labore magno contendimus, inspicere debemus, aut
nihil in illis commodi esse aut plus incommodi.
Quaedam supervacua sunt, quaedam tanti non sunt.

1 sie subinde cognosces Capps; subaudis cognosces pPb; si

sub auditis cognoscis L; si avebis cognoscere J. Mueller; s
iuvat audentis, cognosces Buecheler.

280

EPISTLE XLII.

same thing as soon as he acquires the same powers.
In the case of many men, their vices, being power-
less, escape notice ; although, as soon as the persons
in question have become satisfied with their own
strength, the vices will be no less daring than those
which prosperity has already disclosed. These men
simply lack the means whereby they may unfold
their wickedness. Similarly, one can handle even a
poisonous snake while it is stiff with cold; the poison
is not lacking; it is merely numbed into inaction.
In the case of many men, their cruelty, ambition, and
indulgence only lack the favour of Fortune to make
them dare crimes that would match the worst. That °
their wishes are the same you will in a moment
discover, in this way: give them the power equal to
their wishes.

Do you remember how, when you declared that
a certain person was under your influence, I
pronounced him fickle and a bird of passage, and
said that you held him not by the foot but merely
by a wing? Was I mistaken? You grasped him
only by a feather; he left it in your hands and
escaped. You know what an exhibition he after-
wards made of himself before you, how many of the
things he attempted were to recoil upon his own
head. He did not see that in endangering others
he was tottering to his own downfall. He did not
reflect how burdensome were the objects which he
was bent upon attaining, even if they were not
superfluous.

Therefore, with regard to the objects which we
pursue, and for which we strive with great effort,
we should note this truth; either there is nothing
desirable in them, or the undesirable is preponderant.
Some objects are superfluous; others are not worth

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Sed hoc non pervidemus, et gratuita nobis videntur,

7 quae carissime constant. Ex eo licet stupor noster
appareat, quod ea sola putamus emi, pro quibus
pecuniam solvimus, ea gratuita vocamus, pro quibus
nos ipsos inpendimus. Quae emere nollemus, si
domus nobis nostra pro illis esset danda, si amoenum
aliquod fructuosumve praedium, ad ea _paratissimi
sumus pervenire cum sollicitudine, cum periculo,
cum iactura pudoris et libertatis et temporis; adeo
nihil est cuique se vilius.

g Idem itaque in omnibus consiliis rebusque faciamus,
quod solemus facere, quotiens ad institorem alicuius
mercis accessimus; videamus, hoc quod concupiscimus,
quanti deferatur. Saepe maximum pretium est, pro
quo nullum datur. Multa possum tibi ostendere,
quae adquisita acceptaque libertatem nobis extor-
serint ; nostri essemus, si ista nostra non essent.

9 Haec ergo tecum ipse versa, non solum ubi de
incremento agetur, sed etiam ubi de iactura. “ Hoc
periturum est.” Nempe adventicium fuit ; tam facile
sine isto vives quam vixisti. Si diu illud habuisti,
perdis postquam satiatus es; si non diu, perdis ante-
quam adsuescas. ‘ Pecuniam minorem_habebis.”

10 Nempe et molestiam. “ Gratiam minorem.’’ Nempe
et invidiam. Circumspice ista, quae nos agunt in
insaniam, quae cum plurumis lacrimis amittimus ;
scies non damnum in is! molestum esse, sed opinionem

1 damnum in is Hense ; damnum in his or dum numinis

MSS.
282

EPISTLE XLII.

the price we pay for them. But we do not see this
clearly, and we regard things as free gifts when they
really cost us very dear. Our stupidity may be
clearly proved by the fact that we hold that
“buying” refers only to the objects for which we
pay cash, and we regard as free gifts the things for
which we spend our very selves. These we should
refuse to buy, if we were compelled to give in pay-
ment for them our houses or some attractive and
profitable estate ; but we are eager to attain them
at the cost of anxiety, of danger, and of lost honour,
personal freedom, and time; so true it is that each
man regards nothing as cheaper than himself.

Let us therefore act, in all our plans and conduct,
just as we are accustomed to act whenever we
approach a huckster who has certain wares for sale;
let us see how much we must pay for that which we
crave. Very often the things that cost nothing cost
us the most heavily; I can show you many objects
the quest and acquisition of which have wrested
freedom from our hands. We should belong to our-
selves, if only these things did not belong to us.

I would therefore have you reflect thus, not only
when it is a question of gain, but also when it is a
question of loss. “ This object is bound to perish.”
Yes, it was a mere extra; you will live without it
just as easily as you have lived before. If you have
possessed it for a long time, you lose it after you
have had your fill of it; if you have not possessed it
long, then you lose it before you have become wedded
to it. “You will have less money.” Yes, and less
trouble. “Less influence.” Yes, and less envy.
Look about you and note the things that drive us
mad, which we lose with a flood of tears; you will
perceive that it is not the loss that troubles us with

283

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

damni. Nemo illa perisse sentit, sed cogitat. Qui
se habet, nihil perdidit. Sed quoto cuique habere se
contigit? VALE.

XLITI.

Seneca Lycinio svo SALVTEM

1 Quomodo hoc ad me pervenerit quaeris, quis mihi
id te cogitare narraverit, quod tu nulli narraveras ?
Is quiscit plurumum, rumor. ‘“ Quid ergo?” inquis,
“Tantus sum, ut possim excitare rumorem?”’’ Non
est quod te ad hunc locum respiciens metiaris ; ad

2 istum respice, in quo moraris. Quicquid inter vicina
eminet, magnum est illic, ubi eminet. Nam magni-
tudo non habet! modum certum; comparatio illam
aut tollit? aut deprimit. Navis, quae in flumine
magna est, in mari parvula est. Gubernaculum, quod
alteri navi magnum, alteri exiguum est.

3 Tu nunc in provincia, licet contemnas ipse te,
magnus es. Quid agas, quemadmodum cenes, quem-
admodum dormias, quaeritur, scitur; eo tibi dili-
gentius vivendum est. Tunc autem felicem esse te
iudica, cum poteris in publico vivere, cum te parietes
tui tegent, non abscondent, quos plerumque circum-
datos nobis iudicamus non ut tutius vivamus, sed ut

4 peccemus occultius. Rem dicam, ex qua mores
aestimes nostros : vix quemquam invenies, qui possit

1 non habet later MSS. ; habet pLg.
2 tollit Ls; attollit L second hand and codd. Wirc. and

Erlang.

4 7.e., Rome.
> Lucilius was at this time imperial procurator in Sicily.

284

EPISTEES AEs XL:

reference to these things, but a notion of loss. No
one feels that they have been lost, but his mind tells
him that it has been so. He that owns himself has
lost nothing. But how few men are blessed with
ownership of self! Farewell.

XE; ON THE RELATIVITY (OF EAME

Do you ask how the news reached me, and who
informed me, that you were entertaining this idea,
of which you had said nothing to a single soul? It
was that most knowing of persons,—gossip. “What,”
you say, “am I such a great personage that I can
stir up gossip?’’ Now there is no reason why
you should measure yourself according to this part of
the world®; have regard only to the place where
you are dwelling. Any point which rises above
adjacent points is great, at the spot where it rises.
For greatness is not absolute; comparison increases
it or lessens it. A ship which looms large in the
river seems tiny when on the ocean. A _ rudder
which is large for one vessel, is small for another.

So you in your province ® are really of importance,
though you scorn yourself. Men are asking what
you do, how you dine, and how you sleep, and they
find out, too; hence there is all the more reason for
your living circumspectly. Do not, however, deem
yourself truly happy until you find that you can live
before men’s eyes, until your walls protect but do
not hide you; although we are apt to believe that
these walls surround us, not to enable us to live more
safely, but that we may sin more secretly. I shall
mention a fact by which you may weigh the worth
of a man’s character: you will scarcely find anyone

285

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aperto ostio vivere. Janitores conscientia nostra, non
superbia opposuit ; sic vivimus, ut deprendi sit subito
adspici. Quid autem prodest recondere se et oculos
5 hominum auresque vitare? Bona conscientia turbam
advocat, mala etiam in solitudine anxia atque sollicita
est. Si honesta sunt quae facis, omnes sciant, si
turpia, quid refert neminem scire, cum tu scias? O

te miserum, si contemnis hunc testem! VALE.

XLII.
Seneca LvcILio svo SALVTEM

1 Iterum tu mihi te pusillum facis et dicis malignius
tecum egisse naturam prius, deinde fortunam, cum
possis eximere te vulgo et ad felicitatem hominum
maximam emergere. Si quid est aliud in philosophia
boni, hoc est, quod stemma non inspicit. Omnes, si

2 ad originem primam revocantur, a dis sunt. Eques
Romanus es, et ad hunc ordinem tua te perduxit
industria ; at mehercules multis quattuordecim clausa
sunt ; non omnes curia admittit ; castra quoque, quos
ad laborem et periculum recipiant, fastidiose legunt.
Bona mens omnibus patet, omnes ad hoc sumus
nobiles. Nec reicit quemquam philosophia nec

3 eligit; omnibus lucet. Patricius Socrates non fuit.

« Alluding to the seats reserved for the knights at the
theatre.

286

EPISTLES XLIII., XLIV.

who can live with his door wide open. It is our
conscience, not our pride, that has put doorkeepers
at our doors; we live in such a fashion that being
suddenly disclosed to view is equivalent to being
caught in the act. What profits it, however, to hide
ourselves away, and to avoid the eyes and ears of
men? A good conscience welcomes the crowd, but
a bad conscience, even in solitude, is disturbed and
troubled. If your deeds are honourable, let every-
body know them; if base, what matters it that no
one knows them, as long as you yourself know
them? How wretched you are if you despise such
a witness! Farewell.

XLIV. ON PHILOSOPHY AND PEDIGREES

You are again insisting to me that you are a
nobody, and saying that nature in the first place, and
fortune in the second, have treated you too scurvily,
and this in spite of the fact that you have it in
your power to separate yourself from the crowd and
rise to the highest human happiness! If there is
any good in philosophy, it is this,—that it never
looks into pedigrees. All men, if traced back to
their original source, spring from the gods. You are
a Roman knight, and your persistent work promoted
you to this class; yet surely there are many to whom
the fourteen rows are barred ;% the senate-chamber
is not open to all; the army, too, is scrupulous in
choosing those whom it admits to toil and danger.
But a noble mind is free to all men; according to
this test, we may all gain distinction. Philosophy
neither rejects nor selects anyone; its light shines
for all. Socrates was no aristocrat. Cleanthes

287

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Cleanthes aquam traxit et rigando horto locavit
manus. Platonem non accepit nobilem philosophia,
sed fecit. Quid est quare desperes his te posse fieri
parem? Omnes hi maiores tui sunt, si te illis geris
dignum ; geres autem, si hoc protinus tibi ipse per-

4 suaseris, a nullo te nobilitate superari. Omnibus
nobis totidem ante nos sunt; nullius non origo ultra
memoriam iacet. Platon ait neminem regem non ex
servis esse oriundum,neminem servumnon! exregibus.
Omnia ista longa varietas miscuit et sursum deorsum

5 fortuna versavit. Quis est generosus? Ad virtutem
bene a natura conpositus. Hoc unum intuendum
est; alioquin si ad vetera revocas, nemo non inde est,
ante quod nihil est. A primo mundi ortu usque in
hoe tempus perduxit nos ex splendidis sordidisque
alternata series. Non facit nobilem atrium plenum
fumosis imaginibus. Nemo in nostram gloriam vixit
nec quod ante nos fuit, nostrum est; animus facit
nobiiem, cui ex quacumque condicione supra fortunam
licet surgere. ;

6 Puta itaque te non equitem Romanum esse, sed
libertinum; potes hoe consequi, ut solus sis liber
inter ingenuos. “ Quomodo?”’ inquis. Si mala bona-
que non populo auctore distinxeris. Intuendum est

1 servum non Madvig ; non servum MSS.

@ Plato, Theaetetus, p. 174 E.

>’ Compare with the whole argument Menander, Frag.
533 Kock, ending: és ay eb yeyorws B Ty pice mpds TAayaGd,
kav Aldiop 9, mantep, éeoTiv evyevis.
288

EPISTLE XLIV.

worked at a well and served as a hired man watering
a garden. Philosophy did not find Plato already a
nobleman; it made him one. Why then should you
despair of becoming able to rank with men like
these? They are all your ancestors, if you conduct
yourself in a manner worthy of them; and you will
do so if you convince yourself at the outset that no
man outdoes you in real nobility. We have all had
the same number of forefathers; there is no man
whose first beginning does not transcend memory.
Plato says: “Every king springs from a race of
slaves, and every slave has had kings among his
ancestors.’ % The flight of time, with its vicissitudes,
has jumbled all such things together, and Fortune has
turned them upside down. ‘Then who is well-born ?
He who is by nature well fitted for virtue. That is
the one point to be considered; otherwise, if you
hark back to antiquity, every one traces back to a
date before which there is nothing. From the earliest
beginnings of the universe to the present time, we
have been led forward out of origins that were
alternately illustrious and ignoble. A hall full of
smoke-begrimed busts does not make the nobleman.
No past life has been lived to lend us glory, and
that which has existed before us is not ours; the soul
alone renders us noble, and it may rise superior to
Fortune out of any earlier condition, no matter what
that condition has been.?

Suppose, then, that you were not a Roman knight,
but a freedman, you might nevertheless by your own
efforts come to be the only free man amid a throng
of gentlemen. “How?” you ask. Simply by dis-
tinguishing between good and bad things without
patterning your opinion from the populace. You
should look, not to the source from which these

289

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

non unde veniant, sed quo eant. Si quid est, quod
vitam beatam potest facere, id bonum est suo iure.
7 Depravari enim in malum non potest. Quid est ergo,
in quo erratur, cum omnes beatam vitam optent?
Quod instrumenta eius pro ipsa habent et illam, dum
petunt, fugiunt. Nam cum summa vitae beatae sit
solida securitas et eius inconcussa fiducia, sollicitu-
dinis colligunt causas et per insidiosum iter vitae non
tantuim ferunt sarcinas, sed trahunt; ita longius ab
effectu eius, quod petunt, semper abscedunt et quo
plus operae inpenderunt, hoc se magis impediunt et
feruntur retro. Quod evenit in labyrintho prope-
rantibus ; ipsa illos velocitas inplicat. Vater.

XLV.
Seneca LvycILIO svo SALVTEM

1 Librorum istic inopiam esse quereris. - Non refert,
quam multos, sed quam bonos habeas; lectio certa
prodest, varia delectat. Qui, quo destinavit, per-
venire vult, unam sequatur viam, non per multas
vagetur. Non ire istuc, sed errare est.

2 “Vellem,”?! inquis, “ magis consilium mihi quam
libros dares.” Ego vero quoscumque habeo, mittere
paratus sum et totum horreum excutere. Me quoque

1 As Hense suggests, we should from the context expect
nollem rather than vellem.

290

EPISTLES XLIV., XLV.

things come, but to the goal towards which they
tend. If there is anything that can make lite happy,
it is good on its own merits ; for it cannot degenerate
into evil. Where, then, lies the mistake, since all
men crave the happy life? It is that they regard
the means for producing happiness as happiness itself,
and, while seeking happiness, they are really fleeing
from it. For although the sum and substance of the
happy life is unalloyed freedom from care, and though
the secret of such freedom is unshaken confidence,
yet men gather together that which causes worry,
and, while travelling life’s treacherous road, not only
have burdens to bear, but even draw burdens to
themselves; hence they recede farther and farther
from the achievement of that which they seek, and
the more effort they expend, the more they hinder
themselves and are set back. This is what happens
when you hurry through a maze; the faster you go,
the worse you are entangled. Farewell.

XLV. ON SOPHISTICAL ARGUMENTATION

You complain that in your part of the world there
is a scant supply of books. But it is quality, rather
than quantity, that matters; a limited list of reading
benefits ; a varied assortment serves only for delight.
He who would arrive at the appointed end must
follow a single road and not wander through many
ways. What you suggest is not travelling; it is
mere tramping.

“But,” you say, “I should rather have you give
me advice than books.” Still, I am ready to send
you all the books I have, to ransack the whole store-
house. If it were possible, I should join you there

291

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

isto, si possem, transferrem, et nisi mature te finem
officii sperarem inpetraturum, hance senilem expedi-
tionem indixissem mihi nee me Charybdis et Scylla
et fabulosum istud fretum deterrere potuissent.
Tranassem ista, non solum traiecissem, dummodo te
conplecti possem et praesens aestimare, quantum
animo crevisses.

3. Ceterum quod libros meos tibi mitti desideras, non
magis ideo me disertum puto quam formosum putarem,
si imaginem meam peteres. _Indulgentiae scio istud
esse, non iudicii. Et si modo iudicii est, indulgentia

4 tibi inposuit. Sed qualescumque sunt, tu illos sic
lege, tamquam verum quaeram adhuc, non sciam, et
contumaciter quaeram. Non enim me cuiquam eman-
cipavi, nullius nomen fero. Multum magnorum
virorum iudicio credo, aliquid et meo vindico. Nam
illi quoque non inventa, sed quaerenda nobis relique-
runt, et invenissent forsitan necessaria, nisi et super-

5 vacua quaesissent. Multum illis temporis verborum
cavillatio eripuit, captiosae disputationes, quae acumen
irritum exercent. Nectimus nodos et ambiguam
significationem verbis inligamus ac deinde dissolvimus.

Tantum nobis vacat? Jam vivere, iam mori
scimus? ‘Tota illo mente pergendum est, ubi pro-

6 videri debet, ne res nos, non verba, decipiant. Quid

292

EPISTLE XLV.

myself; and were it not for the hope that you will
soon complete your term of office, I should have
imposed upon myself this old man’s journey; no
Scylla or Charybdis or their storied straits could have
frightened me away. I should not only have crossed
over, but should have been willing to swim over
those waters, provided that I could greet you and
judge in your presence how much you had grown in
spirit.

Your desire, however, that I should dispatch to
you my own writings does not make me think myself
learned, any more than a request for my picture
would flatter my beauty. I know that it is due to
your charity rather than to your judgment. And
even if it is the result of judgment, it was charity
that forced the judgment upon you. But whatever
the quality of my works may be, read them as if I
were still seeking, and were not aware of, the truth,
and were seeking it obstinately, too. For I have
sold myself to no man; I bear the name of no master.
I give much credit to the judgment of great men;
but I claim something also for my own. For these
men, too, have left to us, not positive discoveries,
but problems whose solution is still to be sought.
They might perhaps have discovered the essentials,
had they not sought the superfluous also. They lost
much time in quibbling about words and in sophistical
argumentation ; all that sort of thing exercises the
wit to no purpose. We tie knots and bind up words
in double meanings, and then try to untie them.

Have we leisure enough for this? Do we already
know how to live, or die? We should rather proceed
with our whole souls towards the point where it is
our duty to take heed lest things, as well as words,
deceive us. Why, pray, do you discriminate between

293

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

mihi vocum similitudines distinguis, quibus nemo um.
quam nisi dum disputat captus est? Res fallunt;
illas discerne. Pro bonis mala amplectimur ; optamus
contra id, quod optavimus. Pugnant vota nostra cum
7 votis, consilia cum consiliis. Adulatio quam similis
est amicitiae! Non imitatur tantum illam, sed vincit
et praeterit ; apertis ac propitiis auribus recipitur et
in praecordia ima descendit, eo ipso gratiosa, quo
laedit. | Doce quemadmodum hanc _ similitudinem
possim dinoscere. Venit ad me pro amico blandus
inimicus. Vitia nobis sub virtutum nomine obrepunt,
temeritas sub titulo fortitudinis latet, moderatio
vocatur ignavia, pro cauto timidus accipitur; in his
magno periculo erramus. His certas notas inprime.
8 Ceterum qui interrogatur, an cornua habeat, non
est tam stultus, ut frontem suam temptet, nec rursus
tam ineptus aut hebes, ut ne sciat tu illi subtilissima
collectione persuaseris.!_ Sic ista sine noxa decipiunt,
quomodo praestigiatorum acetabula et calculi, in
quibus me fallacia ipsa delectat. Effice, ut quomodo
fiat intellegam; perdidi usum. Idem de istis cap-
tionibus dico; quo enim nomine potius sophismata
appellem? Nec ignoranti nocent nec scientem iu-
9 vant. Si utique vis verborum ambiguitates diducere,
hoc nos doce, beatum non eum esse, quem vulgus

1 Buecheler supposes a lacuna in this sentence, which he
would fill: wt nesciat aliter esse ac tu illi etc., ‘so that he
does not know the facts to be far different from what
you have persuaded him, by the subtlest argumentation,
to believe.”

* Cf. Gellius, xviii. 2. 9 guod non perdidisti, habes ; cornua
non perdidisti; habes igitur cornua,; cf. also Seneca, Lp.
xl viii.

294

EPISTLE XLV.

similar words, when nobody is ever deceived by them
except during the discussion? It is things that lead
us astray: it is between things that you must dis-
criminate. We embrace evil instead of good; we
pray for something opposite to that which we have
prayed for in the past. Our prayers clash with our
prayers, our plans with our plans. How closely
flattery resembles friendship! It not only apes
friendship, but outdoes it, passing it in the race;
with wide-open and indulgent ears it is welcomed
and sinks to the depths of the heart, and it is
pleasing precisely wherein it does harm. Show me
how I may be able to see through this resemblance!
An enemy comes to me full of compliments, in the
guise of a friend. Vices creep into our hearts under
the name of virtues, rashness lurks beneath the
appellation of bravery, moderation is called sluggish-
ness, and the coward is regarded as prudent; there
is great danger if we go astray in these matters.
So stamp them with special labels.

Then, too, the man who is asked whether he has
horns on his head @ is not such a fool as to feel for
them on his forehead, nor again so silly or dense that
you can persuade him by means of argumentation, no
matter how subtle, that he does not know the facts.
Such quibbles are just as harmlessly deceptive as
the juggler’s cup and dice, in which it is the very
trickery that pleases me. But show me how the
trick is done, and I have lost my interest therein.
And I hold the same opinion about these tricky
word-plays; for by what other name can one call
such sophistries? Not to know them does no harm,
and mastering them does no good. At any rate, if
you wish to sift doubtful meanings of this kind, teach
us that the happy man is not he whom the crowd

295

10

8:

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

appellat, ad quem pecunia magna confluxit, sed illum,
cui bonum omne in animo est, erectum et excelsum
et mutabilia ! caleantem, qui neminem videt, cum quo
se conmutatum velit, qui hominem ea sola parte
aestimat, qua homo est, qui natura magistra utitur, ad
illius leges conponitur, sic vivit, quomodo illa prae-
scripsit, cui bona sua nulla vis excutit, qui mala in
bonum vertit, certus iudicii, inconcussus, intrepidus,
quein aliqua vis movet, nulla perturbat, quem fortuna,
cum quod habuit telum nocentissimum vi maxima
intorsit, pungit, non vulnerat, et hoc raro. Nam
cetera eius tela, quibus genus humanum debellatur,
grandinis more dissultant, quae incussa tectis sine ullo
habitatoris incommodo crepitat ac solvitur.

Quid me detines in eo, quem tu ipse pseudomenon
appellas, de quo tantum librorum conpositum est?
Ecce tota mihi vita mentitur; hance coargue, hance ad
verum, si acutus es, redige. Necessaria iudicat,
quorum magna pars supervacua est. Etiam quae non
est supervacua, nihil in se momenti habet in hoc, ut
possit fortunatum beatumque praestare. Non enim
statim bonum est, si quid necessarium est; aut
proicimus bonum, si hoc nomen pani et polentae
damus et ceteris, sine quibus vita non ducitur. Quod
bonum est, utique necessarium est ; quod necessarium
est, non utique bonum est, quoniam quidem neces-
saria sunt quaedam eadem vilissima. Nemo usque
eo dignitatem boni ignorat, ut illud ad haec in diem
utilia demittat.

1 mutabilia Haupt ; mirabilia MSS.

4 ¢.g. Gellius, xviii. 2. 10 cum mentior et mentiri me dizo,
mentior an verum dico ?

296

EPISTLE XLV

deems happy, namely, he into whose coffers mighty
sums have flowed, but he whose possessions are all
in his soul, who is upright and exalted, who spurns
inconstancy, who sees no man with whom he wishes
to change places, who rates men only at their value
as men, who takes Nature for his teacher, conform-
ing to her laws and living as she commands, whom
no violence can deprive of his possessions, who turns
evil into good, is unerring in judgment, unshaken,
unafraid, who may be moved by force but never
moved to distraction, whom Fortune when she hurls
at him with all her might the deadliest missile in
her armoury, may graze, though rarely, but never
wound. For Fortune’s other missiles, with which
she vanquishes mankind in general, rebound from
such a one, like hail which rattles on the roof with
no harm to the dweller therein, and then melts away.

Why do you bore me with that which you your-
self call the “liar ”’ fallacy,? about which so many books
have been written? Come now,suppose that my whole
life is a lie; prove that to be wrong and, if you are sharp
enough, bring that back to the truth. At present it
holds things to be essential of which the greater part
is superfluous. And even that which is not superfluous
is of no significance in respect to its power of making
one fortunate and blest. For if a thing be necessary,
it does not follow that it isa good. Else we degrade
the meaning of “ good,” if we apply that name to
bread and barley-porridge and other commodities
without which we cannot live. The good must in
every case be necessary ; but that which is necessary
is not in every case a good, since certain very paltry
things are indeed necessary. No one is to such an ex-
tent ignorant of the noblemeaning of the word “good,”
as to debase it to the level of these humdrum utilities.

297

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12 Quid ergo? Non eo potius curam transferes, ut
ostendas omnibus magno temporis inpendio quaeri
supervacua et multos transisse vitam, dum vitae
instrumenta conquirunt? Recognosce singulos, con-
sidera universos; nullius non vita spectat in crastinum.

13 Quid in hoc sit mali, quaeris? Infinitum. Non
enim vivunt, sed victuri sunt. Omnia differunt.
Etiamsi adtenderemus, tamen nos vita praecurreret ;
nune vero cunctantes quasi aliena transcurrit et
ultimo die finitur, omni perit.

Sed ne epistulae modum excedam, quae non
debet sinistram manum legentis inplere, in alium
diem hance litem cum dialecticis differam nimium
subtilibus et hoc solum curantibus, non et hoc. VALE.

XLVI.
Seneca LyvcILio svo SALVTEM

1 Librum tuum, quem mihi promiseras, accepi et
tamquam lecturus ex commodo adaperui ac tantum
degustare volui. Deinde blanditus est ipse, ut
procederem longius. Qui quam disertus fuerit, ex
hoc intellegas licet; levis mihi visus est, cum esset
nec mei nec tui corporis, sed qui primo aspectu aut
Titi Livii aut Epicuri posset videri. Tanta autem
dulcedine me tenuit et traxit, ut illum sine ulla

@ A book was unrolled with the right hand; the reader
gathered up the part already perused with his left hand.
Nearly all books at this time were papyrus rolls, as were
letters of any great length.

298

EPISTLES XLV., XLVI.

What, then? Shall you not rather transfer your
efforts to making it clear to all men that the search
for the superfluous means a great outlay of time, and
that many have gone through life merely accumulat-
ing the instruments of life? Consider individuals,
survey men in general; there is none whose life does
not look forward to the morrow. “ What harm is
there in this,’ you ask? Infinite harm; for such
persons do not live, but are preparing to live. They
postpone everything. Even if we paid strict atten-
tion, life would soon get ahead of us; but as we are
now, life finds us lingering and passes us by as if it
belonged to another, and though it ends on the final
day, it perishes every day.

But I must not exceed the bounds of a letter,
which ought not to fill the reader’s left hand. SoI
shall postpone to another day our case against the
hair-splitters, those over-subtle fellows who make
argumentation supreme instead of subordinate.
Farewell.

XLVI. ON A NEW BOOK BY LUCILIUS

I received the book of yours which you promised
me. I opened it hastily with the idea of glancing
over it at leisure; for I meant only to taste the
volume. But by its own charm the book coaxed
me into traversing it more at length. You may
understand from this fact how eloquent it was; for
it seemed to be written in the smooth style,’ and
yet did not resemble your handiwork or mine, but
at first sight might have been ascribed to Titus Livius
or to Epicurus. Moreover, I was so impressed and
carried along by its charm that I finished it without

> Possibly /evis in the sense of light, referring to size.

299

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

dilatione perlegerim. Sol me invitabat, fames ad.
monebat, nubes minabantur; tamen exhausi totum.

2 Non tantum delectatus, sed gavisus sum. Quid
ingenii iste habuit, quid animi! Dicerem, quid
inpetus, si interquievisset, si ex intervallo! surrexis-
set; nunc non fuit inpetus, sed tenor, conpositio
virilis et sancta; nihilominus interveniebat dulce
illud et loco lene. Grandis, erectus es; hoc te volo
tenere, sic ire. Fecit aliquid et materia; ideo
eligenda est fertilis, quae capiat ingenium, quae
incitet.

3 De libro? plura scribam cum illum retractavero ;
nune parum mihi sedet iudicium, tamquam audierim
illa, non legerim. Sine me et inquirere. Non est
quod verearis ; verumaudies. O te hominem felicem,
quod nihil habes, propter quod quisquam tibi tam
longe mentiatur! Nisi quod iam etiam ubi causa
sublata est, mentimur consuetudinis causa. VALE.

NT Vit.
Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 = Libenter ex is,? qui a te veniunt, cognovi fami-
liariter te cum servis tuis vivere. Hoe prudentiam
tuam, hoe eruditionem decet. “Servisunt.” Immo
homines. “Servi sunt.” Immo _ contubernales.

1 si ex intervallo Madvig ; si intervallo LPb.
2 de libro later MSS. ; libro pLPb.
* is Hense: his or iis MSS.

@ Much of the following is quoted by Macrobius, Sat.
i. 11. 7 ff., in the passage beginning vis tu cogitare eos, ques
ius tuum vocas, «dem seminebus ortos eodem frui caelo, etc.

300

EPISTLES XLVI., XLVII.

any postponement. The sunlight called to me,
hunger warned, and clouds were lowering; but I
absorbed the book from beginning to end.

I was not merely pleased; I rejoiced. So full of
wit and spirit it was! I should have added “ force,”
had the book contained moments of repose, or had it
risen to energy only at intervals. But I found that
there was no burst of force, but an even flow, a
style that was vigorous and chaste. Nevertheless
I noticed from time to time your sweetness, and
here and there that mildness of yours. Your style
is lofty and noble; I want you to keep to this
manner and this direction. Your subject also
contributed something; for this reason you should
choose productive topics, which will lay hold of the
mind and arouse it.

I shall discuss the book more fully after a second
perusal; meantime, my judgment is somewhat
unsettled, just as if I had heard it read aloud, and
had not read it myself. You must aliow me to
examine it also. You need not be afraid ; you shall
hear the truth. Lucky fellow, to offer a man no
opportunity to tell you lies at such long range!
Unless perhaps, even now, when excuses for lying
are taken away, custom serves as an excuse for our
telling each other lies! Farewell.

XLVII. ON MASTER AND SLAVE

I am glad to learn, through those who come from
you, that you live on friendly terms with your slaves,
This befits a sensible and well-educated man like
yourself. “They are slaves,” people declare.* Nay,
rather they are men. “Slaves!’’ No, comrades.

301

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

“Servi sunt.” Immo humiles amici. “ Servi
sunt.” Immo conservi, si cogitaveris tantundem in
utrosque licere fortunae.

2 _Itaque rideo istos, qui turpe existimant cum servo
suocenare. Quare, nisi quia superbissima consuetudo
cenanti domino stantium servorum turbam circum-
dedit? Est ille plus quam capit, et ingenti aviditate
onerat distentum ventrem ac desuetum iam ventris
officio, ut maiore opera omnia egerat quam ingessit ;

3 at infelicibus servis movere labra ne in hoc quidem,
ut loquantur, licet. Virga murmur omne conpescitur,
et ne fortuita quidem verberibus excepta sunt, tussis,
sternumenta, singultus. Magno malo ulla voce
interpellatum silentium luitur. Nocte tota ieiuni
mutique perstant.

4 Sic fit, ut isti de domino loquantur, quibus coram
domino loqui non licet. At illi, quibus non tantum
coram dominis, sed cum ipsis erat sermo, quorum os
non consuebatur, parati erant pro domino porrigere
cervicem, periculum inminens in caput suum avertere ;
in conviviis loquebantur, sed in tormentis tacebant.

5 Deinde eiusdem arrogantiae proverbium iactatur,
totidem hostes esse quot servos. Non habemus illos
hostes, sed facimus.

Alia interim crudelia, inhumana praetereo, quod
ne tamquam hominibus quidem, sed tamquam

302

EPISTLE XLVII.

« Slaves!’’ No, they are unpretentious friends.
“Slaves!” No, they are our fellow-slaves, if one
reflects that Fortune has equal rights over slaves and
free men alike.

That is why I smile at those who think it
degrading for a man to dine with his slave. But
why should they think it degrading? It is only
because purse-proud etiquette surrounds a house-
holder at his dinner with a mob of standing slaves.
The master eats more than he can hold, and with
monstrous greed loads his belly until it is stretched
and at length ceases to do the work of a belly; so
that he is at greater pains to discharge all the food
than he was to stuff it down. All this time the
poor slaves may not move their lips, even to speak.
The slightest murmur is repressed by the rod; even
a chance sound,—a cough, a sneeze, or a hiccup,—
is visited with the lash. There is a grievous penalty
for the slightest breach of silence. All night long
they must stand about, hungry and dumb.

The result of it all is that these slaves, who may
not talk in their master’s presence, talk about their
master. But the slaves of former days, who were
permitted to converse not only in their master’s
presence, but actually with him, whose mouths
were not stitched up tight, were ready to bare
their necks for their master, to bring upon their
own heads any danger that threatened him; they
spoke at the feast, but kept silence during torture.
Finally, the saying, in allusion to this same high-
handed treatment, becomes current: “ As many
enemies as you have slaves.” They are not enemies
when we acquire them; we make them enemies.

I shall pass over other cruel and inhuman conduct
towards them; for we maltreat them, not as if they

VOL. I ic 303

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

iumentis abutimur. Cum!ad cenandum discubuimus,
alius sputa detergit, alius reliquias temulentorum
6 toro? subditus colligit. Alius pretiosas aves scindit ;
per pectus et clunes certis ductibus circumferens
eruditam manum frusta excutit, infelix, qui huic
uni rei vivit, ut altilia decenter secet, nisi quod
miserior est, qui hoc voluptatis causa docet quam
7 qui necessitatis discit. Alius vini minister in
muliebrem modum ornatus cum aetate luctatur; non
potest effugere pueritiam, retrahitur, iamque militari
habitu glaber retritis pilis aut penitus evulsis tota
nocte pervigilat, quam inter ebrietatem domini ac
libidinem dividit et in cubiculo vir, in convivio puer
8 est. Alius, cui convivarum censura permissa est,
perstat infelix et exspectat, quos adulatio et in-
temperantia aut gulae aut linguae revocet in
crastinum. Adice obsonatores, quibus dominici
palati notitia subtilis est, qui sciunt, cuius illum rei
sapor excitet, cuius delectet aspectus, cuius novitate
nauseabundus erigi possit, quid iam-ipsa satietate
fastidiat, quid illo die esuriat. Cum his cenare non
sustinet et maiestatis suae deminutionem putat ad
eandem mensam cum servo suo accedere. Di melius!

1 Before cum MSS. give quod ; Buecheler removed it.
2 toro was inserted by O. Rossbach.

@ Glabri, delicati, or exoleti were favourite slaves, kept
artificially youthful by Romans of the more dissolute class.
Cf. Catullus, lxi. 142, and Seneca, De Brevitate Vitae, 12. 5
(a passage closely resembling the description given above by
Seneca), where the master prides himself upon the elegant
appearance and graceful gestures of these favourites.

304

EPISTLE XLVII.

were men, but as if they were beasts of burden.
When we recline at a banquet, one slave mops up the
disgorged food, another crouches beneath the table
and gathers up the left-overs of the tipsy guests.
Another carves the priceless game birds; with
unerring strokes and skilled hand he cuts choice
morsels along the breast or the rump. Hapless
fellow, to live only for the purpose of cutting fat
capons correctly,—unless, indeed, the other man is
still more unhappy than he, who teaches this art for
pleasure’s sake, rather than he who learns it because
he must. Another, who serves the wine, must dress
like a woman and wrestle with his advancing years ;
he cannot get away from his boyhood ; he is dragged
back to it; and though he has already acquired a
soldier’s figure, he is kept beardless by having his hair
smoothed away or plucked out by the roots, and he
must remain awake throughout the night, dividing
his time between his master’s drunkenness and his
lust ; in the chamber he must be a man, at the feast a
boy. Another, whose duty it is to put a valuation
on the guests, must stick to his task, poor fellow,
and watch to see whose flattery and whose immodesty,
whether of appetite or of language, is to get them
an invitation for to-morrow. ‘Think also of the poor
purveyors of food, who note their masters’ tastes
with delicate skill, who know what special flavours
will sharpen their appetite, what will please their
eyes, what new combinations will rouse their cloyed
stomachs, what food will excite their loathing through
sheer satiety, and what will stir them to hunger
on that particular day. With slaves like these
the master cannot bear to dine; he would think it
beneath his dignity to associate with his slave at
the same table! Heaven forfend!

305

10

11

12

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Quot ex istis dominos habet!! Stare ante limen
Callisti dominum suum vidi et eum, qui illi inpegerat
titulum, qui inter reicula? mancipia produxerat, aliis
intrantibus excludi. Rettulit illi gratiam servus ille
in primam decuriam coniectus, in qua vocem praeco
experitur; et ipse illum invicem apologavit, et ipse
non iudicavit domo sua dignum. Dominus Callistum
vendidit ; sed domino quam multa Callistus !

Vis tu cogitare istum, quem servum tuum vocas,
ex isdem seminibus ortum eodem frui caelo, aeque
spirare, aeque vivere, aeque mori! tam tu*® illum
videre ingenuum potes quam ille te servum. Mariana
clade multos splendidissime natos, senatorium per
militiam auspicantes gradum, fortuna depressit, alium
ex illis pastorem, alium custodem casae fecit; con-
temne nunc eius fortunae hominem, in quam transire,
dum contemnis, potes.

Nolo in ingentem me locum inmittere et de usu
servorum disputare, in quos superbissimi, crudelissimi,
contumeliosissimi sumus. Haec tamen_ praecepti
mei summa est: sic cum inferiore vivas, quemad-
modum tecum superiorem velis vivere. Quotiens in
mentem venerit, quantum tibi in servum? liceat,
veniat in mentem tantundem in te domino tuo licere.
* At ego,’ inquis, “nullum habeo dominum.” Bona

1 habet Haase; habent MSS.

2 reicula Muretus ; ridicula MSS.

3 tam tu the inferior MSS. and Macrobius ; guam tu pb;
tam quam tu Lg. 4 Gertz adds tuwm.

@ The master of Callistus, before he became the favourite
of Caligula, is unknown.

> There is some doubt whether we should not read
Variana, as Lipsius suggests. This method of qualifying
for senator suits the Empire better than the Republic.
Variana would refer to the defeat of Varus in Germany,
Ame 9.

306

EPISTLE XLVII.

But how many masters is he creating in these
very men! I have seen standing in the line, before
the door of Callistus, the former master @ of Callistus ;
I have seen the master himself shut out while others
were welcomed,—the master who once fastened the
“For Sale” ticket on Callistus and put him in the
market along with the good-for-nothing slaves.
But he has been paid off by that slave who was shuffled
into the first lot of those on whom the crier practises
his lungs; the slave, too, in his turn has cut Azs name
from the list and in his turn has adjudged him unfit
to enter his house. The master sold Callistus, but
how much has Callistus made his master pay for!

Kindly remember that he whom you call your
slave sprang from the same stock, is smiled upon by
the same skies, and on equal terms with yourself
breathes, lives, and dies. It is just as possible for you
to see in him a free-born man as for him to see in
youaslave. Asa result of the massacres in Marius’s?
day, many a man of distinguished birth, who was
taking the first steps toward senatorial rank by
service in the army, was humbled by fortune, one
becoming a shepherd, another a caretaker of a
country cottage. Despise, then, if you dare, those
to whose estate yeu may at any time descend, even
when you are despising them.

I do not wish to involve myself in too large a
question, and to discuss the treatment of slaves,
towards whom we Romans are excessively haughty,
cruel, and insulting. But this is the kernel of my
advice: Treat your inferiors as you would be
treated by your betters. And as often as you reflect
how much power you have over a slave, remember
that your master has just as much power over you.
“But I have no master,” you say. You are still

307

13

14

15

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aetas est; forsitan habebis. Nescis, qua aetate
Hecuba servire coeperit, qua Croesus, qua Darei
mater, qua Platon, qua Diogenes?

Vive cum servo clementer, comiter quoque, et in
sermonem illum admitte et in consilium et in con-
victum. Hoc loco adclamabit mihi tota manus
delicatorum: “ Nihil hac re humilius, nihil turpius.”
Hos ego eosdem deprehendam alienorum servorum
osculantes manum. Ne illud quidem videtis, quam
omnem invidiam maiores nostri dominis, omnem
contumeliam servis detraxerint? Dominum patrem
familiae appellaverunt, servos, quod etiam in mimis
adhuc durat, familiares. Instituerunt diem festum,
non quo solo cum servis domini vescerentur, sed quo
utique; honores illis in domo gerere, ius dicere
permiserunt et domum pusillam rem publicam esse
iudicaverunt.

“Quid ergo? Omnes servos admovebo mensae
meae?” Non magis quam omnes liberos. Erras,
si existimas me quosdam quasi sordidioris operae
reiecturum, ut puta illum mulionem et illum bubul-
cum; non ministeriis illos aestimabo, sed moribus.
Sibi quisque dat mores, ministeria casus adsignat.
Quidam cenent tecum, quia digni sunt, quidam, ut
sint. Si quid enim in illis.ex sordida conversatione

@ Plato was about forty years old when he visited Sicily,
whence he was afterwards deported by Dionysius the Elder.
He was sold into slavery at Aegina and ransomed by a man
from Cyrene. Diogenes, while travelling from Athens to
Aegina, is said to have been captured by pirates and sold in
Crete, where he was purchased by a certain Corinthian and
given his freedom.

> 7.¢.,as thepraetor himself was normally accustomed todo.

308

EPISTLE XLVII.

young; perhaps you will have one. Do you not
know at what age Hecuba entered captivity, or
Croesus, or the mother of Darius, or Plato, or
Diogenes ?

Associate with your slave on kindly, even on
affable, terms; let him talk with you, plan with you,
live with you. I know that at this point all the ex-
quisites will cry out against me in a body; they will
say: “There is nothing more debasing, more dis-
graceful, than this.” But these are the very persons
whom I sometimes surprise kissing the hands of
other men’s slaves. Do you not see even this,—
how our ancestors removed from masters every-
thing invidious, and from slaves everything insulting ?
They called the master “father of the household,”
and the slaves ‘“‘members of the household,” a
custom which still holds in the mime. They
established a holiday on which masters and slaves
should eat together,—not as the only day for this
custom, but as obligatory on that day in any case.
They allowed the slaves to attain honours in the
household and to pronounce judgment?; they held
that a household was a miniature commonwealth.

“ Do you mean to say,” comes the retort, “that I
must seat all my slaves at my own table?”’ No, not
any more than that you should invite all free men to
it. You are mistaken if you think that I would bar
from my table certain slaves whose duties are more
humble, as, for example, yonder muleteer or yonder
herdsman; I propose to value them according to
their character, and not according to their duties.
Each man acquires his character for himself, but
accident assigns his duties. Invite some to your
table because they deserve the honour, and others
that they may come to deserve it. For if there is

309

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

16 servile est, honestiorum convictus excutiet. Non
est, mi Lucili, quod amicum tantum in foro et in
curia quaeras; si diligenter adtenderis, et domi
invenies. Saepe bona materia cessat sine artifice ;
tempta, et experiere.| Quemadmodum stultus est,
qui equum empturus non ipsum inspicit, sed stratum
eius ac frenos, sic stultissimus est, qui hominem aut
ex veste aut ex condicione, quae vestis modo nobis
circumdata est, aestimat.

17. “Servusest.” Sed fortasse liberanimo. “ Servus
est.” Hoc illi nocebit? Ostende, quis non sit;
alius libidini servit, alius avaritiae, alius ambitioni,
omnes” timori. Dabo consularem aniculae servien-
tem, dabo ancillulae divitem, ostendam nobilissimos
iuvenes mancipia pantomimorum! Nulla servitus
turpior est quam voluntaria.

Quare non est quod fastidiosi isti? te deterreant,
quo minus servis tuis hilarem te praestes et non
superbe superiorem ; colant potius te quam timeant.

18 Dicet aliquis nunc me vocare ad pilleum servos et-
dominos de fastigio suo deicere, quod dixi: colant
potius dominum quam timeant. “ Ita inquit prorsus:
colant tamquam clientes, tamquam salutatores ?”

Hoe qui dixerit, obliviscetur id dominis parum non

1 experiere Pontanus ; experire MSS.
2 omnes spe Macrobius, followed by some editors.
* isti Schweighauser ; ipsi MSS.
310

EPISTLE XLVII.

any slavish quality in them as the result of their low
associations, it will be shaken off by intercourse with
men of gentler breeding. You need not, my dear
Lucilius, hunt for friends only in the forum or in the
Senate-house ; if you are careful and attentive, you
will find them at home also. Good material often
stands idle for want of an artist; make the experi-
ment, and you will find it so. As he is a fool who,
when purchasing a horse, does not consider the
animal’s points, but merely his saddle and bridle; so
he is doubly a fool who values a man from his clothes
or from his rank, which indeed is only a robe that
clothes us.

“He isa slave.” His soul, however, may be that
of a freeman. “He is a slave.” But shall that
stand in his way? Show me a man who is not a
slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed,
another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear.
I will name you an ex-consul who is slave to an old
hag, a millionaire who is slave to a serving-maid ; I
will show you youths of the noblest birth in serfdom
to pantomime players! No servitude is more dis-
graceful than that which is self-imposed.

You should therefore not be deterred by these
finicky persons from showing yourself to your slaves
as an affable person and not proudly superior to them ;
they ought to respect you rather than fear you.
Some may maintain that I am now offering the
liberty-cap to slaves in general and toppling down
lords from their high estate, because I bid slaves
respect their masters instead of fearing them. They
say: “This is what he plainly means: slaves are to
pay respect as if they were clients or early-morning
callers!” Anyone who holds this opinion forgets
that what is enough for a god cannot be too little

VOL; I | ee 311

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

esse, quod deo sat est. Qui colitur, et amatur; non
19 potest amor cum timore misceri. Rectissime ergo
facere te iudico, quod timeri a servis tuis non vis,
quod verborum castigatione uteris; verberibus muta‘
admonentur.
Non quicquid nos offendit, et laedit. Sed ad
rabiem nos? cogunt pervemire deliciae, ut quicquid
90 non ex voluntate respondit, iram evocet. Regum
nobis induimus animos. Nam illi quoque obliti et
suarum virium et inbecillitatis alienae sic excande-
scunt, sic saeviunt, quasi iniuriam acceperint, a cuius
rei periculo illos fortunae suae magnitudo tutissimos
praestat. Nec hoc ignorant, sed occasionem nocendi
captant querendo; acceperunt iniuriam ut facerent.
91 Diutius te morari nolo; non est enim tibi ex-
hortatione opus. Hoc habent inter cetera boni
mores: placent sibi, permanent. Levis est malitia,
saepe mutatur, non in melius, sed in aliud. Vate.

XLVIIL-
Seneca LyvciLie svo SALVTEM

1 Ad epistulam, quam mihi ex itinere misisti, tam
longam quam ipsum iter fuit, postea rescribam. Se-
ducere me debeo et quid suadeam circumspicere.
Nam tu quoque, qui consulis, diu an consuleres
cogitasti; quanto magis hoc mihi faciendum est,

1 muta Pincianus ; multa and admoventur or admonentur

MSS.
2 cogunt pL; some later MSS. and Macrobius add nos.

312

EPISTLES XLVII., XLVITI.

for a master. Respect means love, and love and
fear cannot be mingled. So I hold that you are
entirely right in not wishing to be feared by your
slaves, and in lashing them merely with the tongue ;
only dumb animals need the thong.

That which annoys us does not necessarily injure
us; but we are driven into wild rage by our luxurious
lives, so that whatever does not answer our whims
arouses our anger. We don the temper of kings.
For they, too, forgetful alike of their own strength
and of other men’s weakness, grow white-hot with
rage, as if they had received an injury, when they
are entirely protected from danger of such injury by
their exalted station. They are not unaware that
this is true, but by finding fault they seize upon
opportunities to do harm; they insist that they have
received injuries, in order that they may inflict them.

I do not wish to delay you longer; for you need
no exhortation. This, among other things, is a mark
of good character: it forms its own judgments and
abides by them ; but badness is fickle and frequently
changing, not for the better, but for something
different. Farewell.

XLVIII. ON QUIBBLING AS UNWORTHY
OF THE PHILOSOPHER

In answer to the letter which you wrote me
while travelling,—a letter as long as the journey
itself,—I shall reply later. I ought to go into
retirement, and consider what sort of advice I should
give you. For you yourself, who consult me, also
reflected for a long time whether to do so; how
much more, then, should I myself reflect, since more

313

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

cum longiore mora opus sit, ut solvas quaestionem
quam ut proponas? Utique cum aliud tibi expediat,
aliud mihi. Iterum ego tamquam Epicureus loquor ?

2 Mihi vero idem expedit, quod tibi; aut non sum
amicus, nisi quicquid agitur ad te pertinens, meum
est. Consortium rerum omnium inter nos _ facit
amicitia. Nec secundi quicquam singulis est nec
adversi; in commune vivitur. Nec potest quisquam
beate degere, qui se tantum intuetur, qui omnia
ad utilitates suas convertit; alteri vivas oportet, si

3 vis tibi vivere. Haec societas diligenter et sancte
observata, quae nos homines hominibus! miscet et
iudicat aliquod esse commune ius generis humani,
plurimum ad illam quoque, de qua loquebar, in-
teriorem societatem amicitiae colendam_proficit.
Omnia enim cum amico communia habebit, qui
multa cum homine.

4 Hoc, Lucili virorum optime, mihi ab istis subtilibus
praecipi malo, quid amico praestare debeam, quid
homini, quam quot modis amicus dicatur, et homo
quam multa significet. In diversum ecce sapientia
et stultitia discedunt; cui accedo? In utram ire
partem iubes? Illi homo pro amico est, huic amicus
non est pro homine. Ille amicum sibi parat, hic se

1 homines hominibus later MSS. ; omnes hominibus pLPb ;
omnes omnibus Muretus.

¢ The Epicureans, who reduced all goods to ‘‘ utilities,”
could not regard a friend’s advantage as identical with one’s
own advantage. And yet they laid great stress upon friend-
ship as one of the chief sources of pleasure. For an attempt
to reconcile these two positions see Cicero, De Finibus, i.
65 ff. Seneca has inadvertently used a phrase that implies
a difference between a friend’s interests and one’s own.
This leads him to reassert the Stoic view of friendship,
which adopted as its motto xowda ra ror Pirwv.

314

EPISTLE XLVIITI.

deliberation is necessary in settling than in pro-
pounding a problem! And this is particularly true
when one thing is advantageous to you and another
to me. Am I speaking again in the guise of an
Epicurean*? But the fact is, the same thing is
advantageous to me which is advantageous to you ;
for I am not your friend unless whatever is at issue
concerning you is my concern also. F riendship pro-
duces between us a partnership in all our interests.
There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for
the individual; we live in common. And no one
can live happily who has regard to himself alone
and transforms everything into a question of his
own utility; you must live for your neighbour,
if you would live for yourself. This fellowship,
maintained with scrupulous care, which makes us
mingle as men with our fellow-men and _ holds that
the human race have certain rights in common, is
also of great help in cherishing the more intimate
fellowship which is based on friendship, concerning
which I began to speak above. For he that has
much in common with a fellow-man will have all
things in common with a friend.

And on this point, my excellent Lucilius, I should
like to have those subtle dialecticians of yours advise
me how I ought to help a friend, or how a fellow-
man, rather than tell me in how many ways the
word “friend” is used, and how many meanings the
word “man” possesses. Lo, Wisdom and Folly are
taking opposite sides. Which shall I join? Which
party would you have me follow? On that side,
“man” is the equivalent of “friend’’; on the other
side, “friend” is not the equivalent of “man.” The
one wants a friend for his own advantage; the
other wants to make himself an advantage to his

315

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

amico. Tu mihi verba distorques et syllabas digeris.

5 Scilicet nisi interrogationes vaferrimas struxero et con-
clusione falsa a vero nascens mendacium adstrinxero,
non potero a fugiendis petenda secernere. Pudet me;
in re tam seria senes ludimus. !

6 “Mus syllaba est. Mus autem caseum rodit;
syllaba ergo caseum rodit.” Puta nunc me istuc
non posse solvere. Quod mihi ex ista inscientia? peri-
culum inminet? Quod incommodum? Sine dubio
verendum est, ne quando in muscipulo syllabas
capiam aut ne quando, si neglegentior fuero, caseum
liber comedat. Nisi forte illa acutior est collectio:
“ Mus syllaba est. Syllaba autem caseum non rodit ;

7 mus ergo caseum non rodit.” O pueriles ineptias !
In hoc supercilia subduximus? In hoc barbam de-
misimus? Hoc est, quod tristes docemus et pallidi ?

Vis scire, quid philosophia promittat generi
humano? Consilium. Alium mors vocat, alium
paupertas urit, alium divitiae vel alienae torquent vel
suae. [lle malam fortunam horret, hic se felicitati
suae subducere cupit. Hunc homines male habent,

8 illum di. Quid mihi Jusoria ista conponis? Non
est iocandi locus; ad miseros advocatus es. Opem
laturum te naufragis, captis, aegris, egentibus, in-

1 After ludimus most MSS. give Vale. Seneca Lucilio

suo Salutem ; Hense brackets.
2 inscientia-P? and Lipsius ; scientia pLP"b.

« The sides are given in reverse order in the two clauses :
to the Stoic the terms ‘‘ friend” and ‘‘man” are co-extensive ;
he is the friend of everybody, and his motive in friendship
is to be of service; the Epicurean, however, narrows the
definition of ‘‘ friend” and regards him merely as an instru-
ment to his own happiness.

> In this paragraph Seneca exposes the folly of trying to
prove a truth by means of logical tricks, and offers a carica-
ture of those which were current among the philosophers
whom he derides.

316

EPISTLE XLVIII.

friend. What you have to offer me is nothing but
distortion of words and splitting of syllables. It is
clear that unless I can devise some very tricky
premisses and by false deductions tack on to them a
fallacy which springs from the truth, I shall not be
able to distinguish between what is desirable and
what is to be avoided! I am ashamed! Old men
as we are, dealing with a problem so serious, we
make play of it!

““¢Mouse’ is a syllable.2 Nowa mouse eats cheese ;
therefore, a syllable eats cheese.” Suppose now that
I cannot solve this problem; see what peril hangs
over my head as a result of such ignorance! What
a scrape I shall be in! Without doubt I must
beware, or some day I shall be catching syllables
in a mousetrap, or, if I grow careless, a book may
devour my cheese! Unless, perhaps, the following
syllogism is shrewder still : “‘ Mouse’ is a syllable.
Now a syllable does not eat cheese. Therefore a
mouse does not eat cheese.”” What childish non-
sense! Do we knit our brows over this sort of
problem? Do we let our beards grow long for this
reason? Is this the matter which we teach with
sour and pale faces ?

Would you really know what philosophy offers
to humanity? Philosophy offers counsel. Death
calls away one man, and poverty chafes another; a
third is worried either by his neighbour’s wealth
or by his own. So-and-so is afraid of bad luck ;
another desires to get away from his own good fortune.
Some are ill-treated by men, others by the gods.
Why, then, do you frame for me such games as
these? It is no occasion for jest; you are retained
as counsel for unhappy mankind. You have promised
to help those in peril by sea, those in captivity, the

317

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tentae securi subiectum praestantibus caput pollicitus
es. Quo diverteris? Quid agis?

Hic, cum quo ludis, timet; succurre, tquidquid
laque ti res pendentium penis.1t Omnes undique
ad te manus tendunt, perditae vitae perituraeque
auxilium aliquod inplorant, in te spes opesque sunt.
Rogant, ut ex tanta illos volutatione extrahas, ut
disiectis et errantibus clarum veritatis lumen ostendas.

9 Dic, quid natura necessarium fecerit, quid super-
vacuum, quam faciles leges? posuerit, quam iucunda
sit vita, quam expedita illas sequentibus, quam acerba
et inplicita eorum, qui opinioni plus quam naturae
crediderunt.

Ad horum mala levanda valere lusoria ista credide-
rim,’ si prius docueris, quam partem eorum levatura
sint. Quid istorum cupiditates demit? Quid tem-
perat? Utinam tantum non prodessent! Nocent.
Hoc tibi, cum voles, manifestissimum faciam, com-
minui et debilitari generosam indolem in istas argutias

10 coniectam. Pudet dicere, contra fortunam militaturis
quae porrigant tela, quemadmodum illos subornent.
Hacad summum bonum itur? Per istud philosophia‘
“sive nive’’ et turpes infamesque etiam ad album

1 The passage is corrupt, but the general sense is given
in the translation. Buecheler suggests succurre, quidquid
laqueist timore pendenti rumpens.

2 faciles leges later MSS. ; faciles LP'b ; felices p.

3 ad horum ... . crediderim added by Hense as supply-
ing the required connexion.

4 philosophia Page ; philosophiae MSS.

* Literally, ‘‘or if or if not,” words constantly employed
by the logicians and in legal instruments. For the latter
cf. Cicero, Pro Caecina, 23. 65 tum illud, quod dicitur, ** sive
nive” irrident, tum aucupia verborum et litterarum tendiculas
in invidiam vocant,

318

BPISTLESXALVILE

sick and the needy, and those whose heads are under
the poised axe. Whither are you straying? What
are you doing?

This friend, in whose company you are jesting,
is in fear. Help him, and take the noose from about
his neck. Men are stretching out imploring hands
to you on all sides; lives ruined and in danger of
ruin are begging for some assistance ; men’s hopes,
men’s resources, depend upon you. ‘They ask that
you deliver them from all their restlessness, that you
reveal to them, scattered and wandering as they
are, the clear light of truth. Tell them what nature
has made necessary, and what superfluous ; tell them
how simple are the laws that she has laid down, how
pleasant and unimpeded life is for those who follow
these laws, but how bitter and perplexed it is for
those who have put their trust in opinion rather than
in nature.

I should deem your games of logic to be of some
avail in relieving men’s burdens, if you could first
show me what part of these burdens they will relieve.
What among these games of yours banishes lust?
Or controls it? Would that I could say that they
were merely of no profit! They are positively harm-
ful. I can make it perfectly clear to you whenever
you wish, that a noble spirit when involved in such
subtleties is impaired and weakened. I am ashamed
to say what weapons they supply to men who are
destined to go to war with fortune, and how poorly
they equip them! Is this the path to the greatest
good? Is philosophy to proceed by such claptrap 4
and by quibbles which would be a disgrace and a

319

Ii

12

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sedentibus exceptiones? Quid enim aliud agitis,
cum eum, quem interrogatis, scientes in fraudem
inducitis, quam ut formula cecidisse videatur? Sed
quemadmodum illos praetor, sic hos philosophia in
integrum restituit. Quid disceditis ab ingentibus
promissis et grandia locuti, effecturos vos, ut non
magis auri fulgor quam gladii praestringat oculos
meos, ut ingenti constantia et quod omnes optant
et quod omnes timent calcem, ad grammaticorum
elementa descenditis? Quid dicitis ?

Sic itur ad astra?

Hoc enim est, quod mihi philosophia promittit, ut
parem deo faciat. Ad hoe invitatus sum, ad hoc
veni; fidem praesta.

Quantum potes ergo, mi Lucili, reduc te ab istis
exceptionibus et praescriptionibus philosophorum.
Aperta decent et simplicia bonitatem. Etiam si
multum superesset aetatis, parce dispensandum erat,
ut sufficeret necessariis; nunc quae dementia est
supervacua discere in tanta temporis egestate? VALr.

@ Literally, ‘‘to those who sit studying the praetor’s
edicts.” The album is the bulletin-board, on which the
edicts of the praetor were posted, giving the formulae and
stipulations for legal processes of various kinds.

® In certain actions the praetor appointed a judge and
established a formula, indicating the plaintiff's claim and
the judge’s duty. If the statement was false, or the claim
excessive, the plaintiff lost his case ; under certain conditions
(see last sentence of Seneca § 11) the defendant could claim
annulment of the formula and have the case tried again.
Such cases were not lost on their merits, and for that reason
the lawyer who purposely took such an advantage was
doing a contemptible thing.

¢ Vergil, Aeneid, ix. 641.

320

EPISTLE XLVIII.

reproach even for expounders® of the law? For
what else is it that you men are doing, when you
deliberately ensnare the person to whom you are
putting questions, than making it appear that the
man has lost his case on a technical error?? But
just as the judge can reinstate those who have lost
a suit in this way, so philosophy has reinstated these
victims of quibbling to their former condition. Why
do you men abandon your mighty promises, and, after
having assured me in high-sounding language that
you will permit the glitter of gold to dazzle my
eyesight no more than the gleam of the sword, and
that I shall, with mighty steadfastness, spurn both
that which all men crave and that which all men
fear, why do you descend to the ABC’s of scholastic
pedants? What is your answer?

Is this the path to heaven ?¢

For that is exactly what philosophy promises to me,
that I shall be made equal to God. For this I have
been summoned, for this purpose have I come.
Philosophy, keep your promise !

Therefore, my dear Lucilius, withdraw yourself as
far as possible from these exceptions and objections
of so-called philosophers. Frankness and simplicity
beseem true goodness. Even if there were many
years left to you, you would have had to spend them
frugally in order to have enough for the necessary
things ; but as it is, when your time is so scant, what
madness it is to learn superfluous things! Farewell.

321

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

XLIX.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

Est quidem, mi Lucili, supinus et neglegens, qui
in amici memoriam ab aliqua regione admonitus re-
ducitur; temen repositum in animo nostro desiderium
loca interdum familiaria evocant nec extinctam me-
moriam reddunt, sed quiescentem inritant, sicut
dolorem lugentium, etiam si mitigatus est tempore,
aut servulus familiaris amisso! aut vestis aut domus
renovat.

Ecce Campania et maxime Neapolis ac? Pompeio-
rum tuorum conspectus ? incredibile est quam recens
desiderium tui fecerint; totus mihi in oculis es.
Cum maxime a te discedo. Video lacrimas con-
bibentem et adfectibus tuis inter ipsam coercitionem
exeuntibus non satis resistentem. Modo amisisse te
videor. Quid enim non “modo” est, si recorderis ?
Modo apud Sotionem philosophum puer sedi, modo
causas agere coepi, modo desii velle agere, modo
desii posse. Infinita est velocitas temporis, quae
magis apparet respicientibus. Nam ad_ praesentia
intentos fallit; adeo praecipitis fugae transitus lenis
est. Causam huius rei quaeris? Quicquid temporis
transit, eodem loco est; pariter aspicitur, una iacet.
Omnia in idem? profundum cadunt. Et alioqui non

' servulus familiaris amisso Gertz; servuli fam. amissi
(amisso) MSS.

2 ac Volkmann; a and ad MSS.

3 conspectus Volkmann ; conspectum MSS,
+ an idem Rossbach ; inde pLb; in P.

« Probably the birthplace of Lucilius.
> The Pythagorean. For his views on vegetarianism, and
their influence on Seneca, see Ep. cviii. 17 ff.

322

EPISTLE XLIX.

XLIX: “ON ‘THE!/ SHORTNESS’ OF / LIFE

A man is indeed lazy and careless, my dear
Lucilius, if he is reminded of a friend only by seeing
some landscape which stirs the memory; and yet
there are times when the old familiar haunts stir up
a sense of loss that has been stored awzy in the soul,
not bringing back dead memories, but rousing them
from their dormer state, just as the sight of a lost
friend’s favourite slave, or his cloak, or his house,
renews the mourner’s grief, even though it has been
softened by time.

Now, lo and behold, Campania, and especially
Naples and your beloved Pompeii,* struck me, when
I viewed them, with a wonderfully fresh sense of
longing for you. You stand in full view before my
eyes. I am on the point of parting from you. I
see you choking down your tears and resisting
without success ‘the emotions that well up at the
very moment when you try to check them. I seem
to have lost you but a moment ago. For what is
not “but a moment ago” when one begins to use
the memory? It was but a moment ago that I sat,
as a lad, in the school of the philosopher Sotion,? but
a moment ago that I began to plead in the courts,
but a moment ago that I lost the desire to plead,
but a moment ago that I lost the ability. Infinitely
swift is the flight of time, as those see more clearly
who are looking backwards. For when we are intent
on the present, we do not notice it, so gentle is
the passage of time’s headlong flight. Do you ask
the reason for this? All past time is in the same
place ; it all presents the same aspect to us, it lies
together. Everything slips into the same abyss.

a2

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

possunt longa intervalla esse in ea re, quae tota
brevis est. Punctum est quod vivimus et adhuc
puncto minus. Sed et hoc minimum specie quadam
longioris spatii natura derisit ; aliud ex hoc infantiam
fecit, aliud pueritiam, aliud adulescentiam, aliud in-
clinationem quandam ab adulescentia ad senectutem,
aliud ipsam senectutem. In quam angusto quodam

4 quot gradus posuit! Modo te prosecutus sum; et
tamen hoc “ modo”’ aetatis nostrae bona portio est,
cuius brevitatem aliquando defecturam! cogitemus.
Non solebat mihi tam velox tempus videri; nune
incredibilis cursus apparet, sive quia admoveri lineas
sentio, sive quia adtendere coepi et conputare dam-
num meum.

5 Eo magis itaque indignor aliquos ex hoc tempore,
quod sufficere ne ad necessaria quidem potest, etiam
si custoditum diligentissime fuerit, in supervacua
maiorem partem erogare. Negat Cicero, si duplicetur
sibi aetas, habiturum se tempus, quo legat lyricos ;
eodem loco pone? dialecticos; tristius inepti sunt.
Illi ex professo lasciviunt, hi agere ipsos aliquid

6 existimant. Nec ego nego prospicienda ista, sed
prospicienda tantum et a limine salutanda in hoc
unum, ne verba nobis dentur et aliquid esse in illis
magni ac secreti boni iudicemus.

1 , defecturam Miller ; Fy Bia rat MSS.
2 pone inserted by Haase; pono or habeo was proposed
by Schweighduser; conloco by ermes, followed by Hense.

¢ Source unknown; perhaps, as Hense thinks, from the
Hortensius.

> An intentional equivocation on the part of Cicero, who
intimates that he will ‘‘ lose no time ” in reading them.

324

EPISTLE XLIX.

Besides, an event which in its entirety is of brief
compass cannot contain long intervals. The time
which we spend in living is but a point, nay,
even less than a point. But this point of time,
infinitesimal as it is, nature has mocked by making
it seem outwardly of longer duration ; she has taken
one portion thereof and made it infancy, another
childhood, another youth, another the gradual slope,
so to speak, from youth to old age, and old age
itself is still another. How many steps for how
short a climb! It was but a moment ago that I saw
you off on your journey; and yet this “moment
ago”’’ makes up a goodly share of our existence,
which is so brief, we should reflect, that it will soon
come to an end altogether. In other years time
did not seem to me to go so swiftly; now, it seems
fast beyond belief, perhaps because I feel that the
Anish-line is moving closer to me, or it may be that
I have begun to take heed and reckon up my losses.

For this reason I am all the more angry that
some men claim the major portion of this time for
superfluous things,—time which, no matter how care-
fully it is guarded, cannot suffice even for necessary
things. Cicero® declared that if the number of his
days were doubled, he should not have time to read
the lyric poets.” And you may rate the dialecticians
in the same class; but they are foolish in a more
melancholy way. The lyric poets are avowedly
frivolous; but the dialecticians believe that they
are themselves engaged upon serious business. I do
not deny that one must cast a glance at dialectic;
but it ought to be a mere glance, a sort of greeting
from the threshold, merely that one may not be
deceived, or judge these pursuits to contain any
hidden matters of great worth.

325

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Quid te torques et maceras in ea quaestione, quam
subtilius est contempsisse quam solvere? Securi est
et ex commodo migrantis minuta conquirere ; cum
hostis instat a tergo et movere se iussus est miles,
necessitas excutit quicquid pax otiosa collegerat.
Non vacat mihi verba dubie cadentia consectari et
vafritiam in illis meam experiri.

Adspice qui coeant populi, quae moenia clusis
Ferrum acuant portis.

Magno mihi animo strepitus iste belli cireumsonantis
exaudiendus est. Demens omnibus merito viderer, si
cum saxa in munimentum murorum senes feminaeque
congererent, cum iuventus intra portas armata signum
eruptionis expectaret aut posceret, cum hostilia in
portis tela vibrarent et ipsum solum suffossionibus
et cuniculis tremeret, sederem otiosus et eiusmodi
quaestiunculas ponens: “ Quod non perdidisti, habes.
Cornua autem non perdidisti; cornua ergo habes”
aliaque ad exemplum huius acutae delirationis con-
cinnata. Atqui aeque licet tibi demens videar, si istis
inpendero operam; et nunc! obsideor. Tunc tamen
periculum mihi obsesso externum inmineret, murus
me ab hoste secerneret; nunc mortifera mecum
sunt. Non vaco ad istas ineptias; ingens negotium

1 nunc added by Gertz.

@ Vergil, Aeneid, viii. 385 f.
> A sample of syllogistic nonsense, quoted also by Gellius,
xviii. 2.9. See also Hp. xlv. 8.

826

EPISTLE XLIX.

Why do you torment yourself and lose weight
over some problem which it is more clever to have
scorned than to solve? When a soldier is undisturbed
and travelling at his ease, he can hunt for trifles
along his way; but when the enemy is closing in
on the rear, and a command is given to quicken the
pace, necessity makes him throw away everything
which he picked up in moments of peace and leisure.
I have no time to investigate disputed inflections of
words, or to try my cunning upon them.

Behold the gathering clans, the fast-shut gates,
And weapons whetted ready for the war.*

I need a stout heart to hear without flinching this
din of battle which sounds round about. And all
would rightly think me mad if, when greybeards and
women were heaping up rocks for the fortifications,
when the armour-clad youths inside the gates were
awaiting, or even demanding, the order for a sally,
when the spears of the foemen were quivering in
our gates and the very ground was rocking with
mines and subterranean passages,—I say, they would
rightly think me mad if I were to sit idle, putting
such petty posers as this: “What you have not
lost, you have. But you have not lost any horns.
Therefore, you have horns,’® or other tricks con-
structed after the model of this piece of sheer
silliness. And yet I may well seem in your eyes
no less mad, if I spend my energies on that sort
of thing; for even now I am in a state of siege.
And yet, in the former case it would be merely
a peril from the outside that threatened me,
and a wall that sundered me from the foe; as
it is now, death-dealing perils are in my very
presence. I have no time for such nonsense; a

327

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

in manibus est. Quid agam? Mors me sequitur,

10 fugit vita; adversus haec me doce aliquid. Effice,

11

12

ut ego mortem non fugiam, vita me non effugiat.
Exhortare adversus difficilia, adde aequanimitatem !
adversus inevitabilia. Angustias temporis mci laxa.
Doce non esse positum bonum vitae in spatio eius,
sed in usu, posse fieri, immo saepissime fieri, ut
qui diu vixit, parum vixerit. Dic mihi dormituro:
«Potes non expergiser ™ die ‘experrecto’: “ Potes
non dormire amplius.’”” Dic exeunti: “ Potes non
reverti’’; dic redeunti: “ Potes non exire.” Erras,
si in navigatione tantum existimas minimum esse,
quo a” morte vita diducitur; in omni loco aeque
tenue intervallum est. Non ubique se mors tam
prope ostendit ; ubique tam prope est.

Has tenebras discute; et facilius ea trades, ad
quae praeparatus sum. Dociles natura nos edidit et
rationem dedit inperfectam, sed quae perfici posset.
De iustitia mihi, de pietate disputa, de frugalitate, de
pudicitia utraque, et illa, cui alieni corporis abstinen-
tia est, et hac, cui sui cura. Si me nolueris per
devia ducere, facilius ad id, quo tendo, perveniam.
Nam ut ait ille tragicus,

1 adde aequanimitatem Linde ; de aequanimitate pLPb.
* a added by Muretus.

@ 3.e., the timbers of the ship. Compare the same figure
in Ep. xxx. 2.

> Euripides, Phoenissae, 469 dmdots 6 midos ris ddnOelas
épu.
328

EPISTLE XLIX.

mighty undertaking is on my hands. What am I
to do? Death is on my trail, and life is fleeting
away ; teach me something with which to face these .
troubles. Bring it to pass that I shall cease trying
to escape from death, and that life may cease to
escape from me. Give me courage to meet hard-
ships ; make me calm in the face of the unavoid;
able. Relax the straitened limits of the time which
is allotted me. Show me that the good in life
does not depend upon life’s length, but upon the
use we make of it; also, that it is possible, or
rather usual, for a man who has lived long to have
lived too little. Say to me when I lie down to
sleep: “ You may not wake again!” And when I
have waked: “You may not go to sleep again!”
Say to me when I go forth from my house: “ You
may, mot, return!,””....And, when. ‘1 return.:)“ You
may never go forth again!’’ You are mistaken
if you think that only on an ocean voyage there
is a very slight space* between life and death.
No, the distance between is just as narrow every-
where. It is not everywhere that death shows
himself so near at hand; yet everywhere he is as
near at hand.

Rid me of these shadowy terrors ; then you will
more easily deliver to me the instruction for which
I have prepared myself. At our birth nature made
us teachable, and gave us reason, not perfect, but
capable of being perfected. Discuss for me justice,
duty, thrift, and that twofold purity, both the
purity which abstains from another’s person, and
that which takes care of one’s own self. If you will
only refuse to lead me along by-paths, I shall more ©
easily reach the goal at which I am aiming. For,
as the tragic poet? says:

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Veritatis simplex oratio est.
Ideoque illam inplicari non oportet; nec enim quic-
quam minus convenit quam subdola ista calliditas
animis magna conantibus. VaAce.

L.
Seneca LycILio svo SALVTEM

1 Epistulam tuam accepi post multos menses quam
miseras. Supervacuum itaque putavi ab eo, qui ad-
ferebat, quid ageres quaerere. Valde enim bonae
memoriae est, si meminit! Et tamen spero te sic
iam vivere, ut ubicumque eris, sciam quid agas. Quid
enim aliud agis quam ut meliorem te ipse cottidie
facias, ut aliquid ex erroribus ponas, ut intellegas tua
vitia esse, quae putas rerum? Quaedam enim locis
et temporibus adscribimus. At illa, quocumque
transierimus, secutura sunt.

2 Harpasten, uxoris meae fatuam, scis hereditarium
onus in domo mea remansisse. Ipse enim aversissi-
mus! ab istis prodigiis sum; si quando fatuo delectari
volo, non est mihi longe quaerendus; me rideo.
Haec fatua subito desiit videre. Incredibilem rem
tibi narro, sed veram : nescit esse se caecam. Subinde
paedagogum suum rogat ut migret. Ait domum
tenebricosam esse.

3 Hoc quod in illa ridemus, omnibus nobis accidere
liqueat tibi; nemo se avarum esse intellegit, nemo
cupidum. Caeci tamen ducem quaerunt, nos sine

1 aversissimus Agricola ; avarissimus MSS.

330

EPISTLES XLIXGL.

The language of truth is simple.

We should not, therefore, make that language in-
tricate; since there is nothing less fitting for a
soul of great endeavour than such crafty cleverness.
Farewell.

L. ON OUR BLINDNESS AND ITS CURE

I received your letter many months after you had
posted it; accordingly, I thought it useless to ask the
carrier what you were busied with. He must have
a particularly good memory if he can remember that!
But I hope by this time you are living in such a way
that I can be sure what it is you are busied with, no
matter where you may be. For what else are you
busied with except improving yourself every day,
laying aside some error, and coming to understand
that the faults which you attribute to circumstances
are in yourself? We are indeed apt to ascribe certain
faults to the place or to the time; but those faults
will follow us, no matter how we change our place.

You know Harpasté, my wife’s female clown; she
has remained in my house, a burden incurred from a
legacy. I particularly disapprove of these freaks;
whenever I wish to enjoy the quips of a clown, I am
not compelled to hunt far; I can laugh at myself.
Now this clown suddenly became blind. The story
sounds incredible, but I assure you that it is true:
she does not know that she is blind. She keeps
asking her attendant to change her quarters; she
says that her apartments are too dark.

You can see clearly that that which makes us
smile in the case of Harpasté happens to all the rest
of us; nobody understands that he is himself greedy,
or that he is covetous Yet the blind ask for a guide,

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THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

duce erramus et dicimus : “ Non ego ambitiosus sum,
sed nemo aliter Romae potest vivere. Non ego sump-
tuosus sum, sed urbs ipsa magnas inpensas exigit.
Non est meum vitium, quod iracundus sum, quod non-
dum constitui certum genus vitae ; adulescentia haec

4 facit.’” Quid nos decipimus? Non est extrinsecus
malum nostrum; intra nos est, in visceribus ipsis
sedet, et ideo difficulter ad sanitatem pervenimus,
quia nos aegrotare nescimus.

Si curari coeperimus, quando tot morborum tantas
vires! discutiemus? Nunc vero ne? quaerimus quidem
medicum, qui minus negotii haberet, si adhiberetur
ad recens vitium. Sequerentur teneri et rudes animi

5 recta monstrantem. Nemo difficulter ad naturam
reducitur, nisi qui ab illa defecit. Erubescimus
discere bonam mentem; at mehercules, si turpe est
magistrum huius rei quaerere, illud desperandum est,
posse nobis casu tantum bonum influere.

Laborandum est, et ut verum dicam, ne _ labor
quidem magnus est, si modo, ut dixi, ante animum
nostrum formare incipimus et recorrigere, quam
indurescat pravitas eius. Sed nec indurata despero.

6 Nihil est, quod non expugnet pertinax opera et
intenta ac diligens cura; robora in rectum quamvis
flexa revocabis. Curvatas trabes calor explicat et
aliter natae in id finguntur, quod usus noster exigit ;
quanto facilius animus accipit formam, flexibilis et

1 morborum tantas vires Gertz ; morbos tantas ve res MSS.
2 ne Muretus ; nec MSS.

332

EPISTLE L.

while we wander without one, saying: “I am not
self-seeking; but one cannot live at Rome in any
other way. I am not extravagant, but mere living
in the city demands a great outlay. It is not my
fault that I have a choleric disposition, or that I
have not settled down to any definite scheme of
life; it is due to my youth.” Why do we deceive
ourselves? The evil that afflicts us is not external,
it is within us, situated in our very vitals; for that
reason we attain soundness with all the more diffi-
culty, because we do not know that we are diseased.

Suppose that we have begun the cure; when shall
we throw off all these diseases, with all their viru-
lence? At present, we do not even consult the
physician, whose work would be easier if he were
called in when the complaint was in its early stages.
The tender and the inexperienced minds would follow
his advice if he pointed out the right way. No man
finds it difficult to return to nature, except the man
who has deserted nature. We blush to receive in-
struction in sound sense ; but, by Heaven, if we think
it base to seek a teacher of this art, we should also
abandon any hope that so great a good could be
instilled into us by mere chance.

No, we must work. To tell the truth, even the
work is not great, if only, as I said, we begin to mould
and reconstruct our souls before they are hardened by
sin. But I do not despair even of a hardened sinner.
There is nothing that will not surrender to persistent
treatment, to concentrated and careful attention ;
however much the timber may be bent, you can
make it straight again. Heat unbends curved beams,
and wood that grew naturally in another shape is
fashioned artificially according to our needs. How
much more easily does the soul permit itself to be

333

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

omni umore obsequentior. Quid enim est aliud
animus quam quodam modo se habens spiritus?
Vides autem tanto spiritum esse faciliorem omni alia
materia, quanto tenuior est.

7 Illud, mi Lucili, non est quod te inpediat, quo
minus de nobis bene speres, quod malitia nos iam
tenet, quod diu in possessione nostri est ; ad neminem
ante bona mens venit quam mala. Omnes prae-
occupati sumus. Virtutes discere vitia dediscere est.

8 Eo! maiore animo ad emendationem nostri debemus
accedere, quod semel traditi nobis boni perpetua
possessio est ; non dediscitur virtus. Contraria enim
male? in alieno haerent, ideo depelli et exturbari
possunt; fideliter sedent, quae in locum suum veniunt.
Virtus secundum naturam est, vitia inimica et infesta

9 sunt. Sed quemadmodum virtutes receptae exire non
possunt facilisque earum tutela est, ita initium ad illas
eundi arduum, quia hoc proprium ° inbecillae mentis
atque aegrae est, formidare inexperta. Itaque cogenda
est, ut incipiat; deinde non est acerba medicina.
Protinus enim delectat, dum sanat. Aliorum reme-
diorum post sanitatem voluptas est, philosophia
pariter et salutaris et dulcis est. Vate.

1 dediscere est. eo Haupt; dediscere (om. Pb) sed eo MSS.

2 male P. Thomas ; mala MSS
2 proprium Madvig ; primum MSS.

334

EPISTLE L.

shaped, pliable as it is and more yielding than any
liquid! For what else is the soul than air in a certain
state? And you see that air is more adaptable than
any other matter, in proportion as it is rarer than
any other.

There is nothing, Lucilius, to hinder you from
entertaining good hopes about us, just because we
are even now in the grip of evil, or because we have
long been possessed thereby. There is no man to
whom a good mind comes before an evil one. It is
the evil mind that gets first hold on all of us.
Learning virtue means unlearning vice. We should
therefore proceed to the task of freeing ourselves
from faults with all the more courage because, when
once committed to us, the good is an everlasting
possession; virtue is not unlearned. For opposites
find difficulty in clinging where they do not belong,
therefore they can be driven out and hustled away ;
but qualities that come to a place which is rightfully
theirs abide faithfully. Virtue is according to nature;
vice is opposed to it and hostile. But although
virtues, when admitted, cannot depart and are easy
to guard, yet the first steps in the approach to them
are toilsomne, because it is characteristic of a weak
and diseased mind to fear that which is unfamiliar.
The mind must, therefore, be forced to make a
beginning ; from then on, the medicine is not bitter ;
for just as soon as it is curing us it begins to give
pleasure. One enjoys other cures only after health
is restored, but a draught of philosophy is at the
same moment wholesome and pleasant. Farewell.

VOL. I M 335

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA
LI.

Seneca LyciLio svo sALVTEM

1 Quomodo gquisque potest, mi Lucili! Tu istic
habes Aetnam, editum illum ac! nobilissimum Siciliae
montem, quem quare dixerit Messala unicum, sive
Valgius, apud utrumque enim legi, non reperio, cum
plurima loca evomant ignem, non tantum edita, quod
crebrius evenit, videlicet quia ignis in altissimum
effertur, sed etiam iacentia. Nos utcumque possumus,
contenti sumus Bais, quas postero die quam adtigeram
reliqui, locum ob hoe devitandum, cum habeat quas-
dam naturales dotes, quia illum sibi celebrandum

2 luxuria desumpsit. “Quid ergo? Ulli loco indicen-
dum est odium?” Minime. Sed quemadmodum
aliqua vestis sapienti ac probo viro magis convenit
quam aliqua, nec ullum colorem ille odit, sed aliquem
parum putat aptum esse frugalitatem professo; sic
regio quoque est, quam sapiens vir aut ad sapientiam
tendens declinet tamquam alienam bonis moribus.

3 Itaque de secessu cogitans numquam Canopum eliget,
guamvis neminem Canopus esse frugi vetet, ne Baias
quidem ; deversorium vitiorum esse coeperunt. _Illiec
sibi plurimum luxuria permittit, illic, tamquam aliqua
licentia debeatur loco, magis solvitur. .

4 Non tantum corpori, sed etiam moribus salubrem

1 gditum iulum ac Chatelain and Hense; et illue MSS.

* Etna was of especial interest to Lucilius. Besides
being a Governor in Sicily, he may have written the poem
Aetna. For Seneca’s own curiosity regarding the mountain
compare Ep. Ixxix. 5 ff.

> Not far from Naples, and across the bay from Puteoli.
It was a fashionable and dissolute watering-place.

¢ Situated at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the
—— proverbial in Latin literature for the laxity of its
mor

336

EPISTLE LI.

LI. ON BAIAE AND MORALS

Every man does the best he can, my dear Lucilius!
You over there have Etna,? that lofty and most
celebrated mountain of Sicily; (although I cannot
make out why Messala,—or was it Valgius? for I
have been reading in both,—has called it “ unique,”
inasmuch as many regions belch forth fire, not merely
the lofty ones where the phenomenon is more
frequent, — presumably because fire rises to the
greatest possible height,—but low-lying places also.)
As for myself, I do the best I can; I have had to be
satisfied with Baiae®; and I left it the day after I
reached it; for Baiae is a place to be avoided, because,
though it has certain natural advantages, luxury has
claimed it for her own exclusive resort. “What then,”
you say, “should any place be singled out as an object
of aversion?” Not atall. But just as, to the wise
and upright man, one style of clothing is more
suitable than another, without his having an aversion
for any particular colour, but because he thinks that
some colours do not befit one who has adopted the
simple life ; so there are places also, which the wise
man or he who is on the way toward wisdom will
avoid as foreign to good morals. Therefore, if he
is contemplating withdrawal from the world, he will
not select Canopus*® (although Canopus does not
keep any man from living simply), nor Baiae either ;
for both places have begun to be resorts of vice.
At Canopus luxury pampers itself to the utmost
degree ; at Baiae it is even more lax, as if the place
itself demanded a certain amount of licence.

We ought to select abodes which are wholesome

ase

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

locum eligere debemus. Quemadmodum inter tor-
tores habitare nolim, sic ne inter popinas quidem.
Videre ebrios per litora errantes et comessationes
navigantium et symphoniarum cantibus strepentes
lacus et alia, quae velut soluta legibus luxuria non

5 tantum peccat, sed publicat, quid necesse est? Id
agere debemus, ut irritamenta vitiorum quam lon-
gissime profugiamus. Indurandus est animus et a
blandimentis voluptatum procul abstrahendus. Una
Hannibalem hiberna solverunt et indomitum illum
nivibus atque Alpibus virum enervaverunt fomenta

6 Campaniae. Armis vicit, vitiis victus est. Nobis
quoque militandum est, et quidem genere militiae,
quo numquam quies, numquam otium datur. Debel-
landae sunt in primis voluptates, quae, ut vides, saeva
quoque ad se ingenia rapuerunt. Si quis sibi pro-
posuerit, quantum operis adgressus sit, sciet nihil
delicate, nihil molliter esse faciendum. Quid mihi
cum istis calentibus stagnis? Quid cum sudatoriis,
in quae siccus vapor corpora exhausurus includitur?
Omnis sudor per laborem exeat.

7 Si faceremus, quod fecit Hannibal, ut interrupto
cursu rerum omissoque bello fovendis corporibus
operam daremus, nemo non intempestivam desidiam
victori quoque, nedum vincenti, periculosam merito
reprehenderet ; minus nobis quam illis Punica signa
sequentibus licet, plus periculi restat cedentibus, plus

@ There isconsiderable doubt whether symphonia was vocal
or instrumental music. The passage probably refers either
to glee-singers (as in Venice to-day) or to bands of flute-
players playinz part-music. Cicero (Verr. iii. 44. 105) men-
tions them as providing entertainment at banquets.

338

EPISTLE LI.

not only for the body but also for the character.
Just as I do not care to live in a place of torture,
neither do I care to live in a café. To witness
persons wandering drunk along the beach, the riotous
revelling of sailing parties, the lakes a-din with choral
song, and all the other ways in which luxury, when
it is, so to speak, released from the restraints of Jaw
not merely sins, but blazons its sins abroad,—why
must I witness all this? We ought to see to it that
we flee to the greatest possible distance from pro-
vocations to vice. We should toughen our minds,
and remove them far from the allurements of pleasure.
A single winter relaxed Hannibal’s fibre; his pamper-
ing in Campania took the vigour out of that hero
who had triumphed over Alpine snows. He con-
quered with his weapons, but was conquered by his
vices. We too have a war to wage, a type of warfare
in which there is allowed no rest or furlough. To
be conquered, in the first place, are pleasures, which,
as you see, have carried off even the sternest char-
acters. If a man has once understood how great is
the task which he has entered upon, he will see that
there must be no dainty or effeminate conduct.
What have I to do with those hot baths or with the
sweating -room where they shut in the dry steam
which is to drain your strength? Perspiration should
flow only after toil.

Suppose we do what Hannibal did,—check the
course of events, give up the war, and give over our
bodies to be coddled. Every one would rightly
blame us for our untimely sloth, a thing fraught with
peril even for the victor, to say nothing of one who
is only on the way to victory. And we have even
less right to do this than those followers of the
Carthaginian flag; for our danger is greater than

339

8

10

at

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

operis etiam perseverantibus. Fortuna mecum bellum
gerit; non sum imperata facturus. Jugum non re-
cipio, immo, quod maiore virtute faciendum est,
excutio. Non est emolliendus animus; si voluptati
cessero, cedendum est dolori, cedendum est labori,
cedendum est paupertati; idem sibi in me iuris esse
volet et ambitio et ira; inter tot adfectus distrahar,
immo discerpar. Libertas proposita est; ad hoc
praemium laboratur. Quae sit libertas, quaeris?
Nulli rei servire, nulli necessitati, nullis casibus,
fortunam in aequum deducere. Quo die illa me!
intellexero plus posse, nil poterit. Ego illam feram,
cum in manu mors sit ?

His cogitationibus intentum loca seria sanctaque
eligere oportet. Effeminat animos amoenitas nimia
nec dubie aliquid ad corrumpendum vigorem potest
regio. Quamlibet viam iumenta patiuntur, quorum
durata in aspero ungula est; in molli palustrique
pascuo saginata cito subteruntur. Et fortior miles
ex confragoso venit; segnis est urbanus et verna.
Nullum laborem recusant manus, quae ad arma ab
aratro transferuntur; in primo deficit pulvere ille
unctus et nitidus. Severior loci disciplina firmat
ingenium aptumque magnis conatibus reddit. Literni

1 quo die illa me Lipsius; quod die illa P; quo die illam b;

quo die illum E..
340

EPISTLE LI.

theirs if we slacken, and our toil is greater than
theirs even if we press ahead. Fortune is fighting
against me, and I shall not carry out her commands.
I refuse to submit to the yoke; nay rather, I shake
off the yoke that is upon me,—an act which demands
even greater courage. The soul is not to be pampered ;
surrendering to pleasure means also surrendering to
pain, surrendering to toil, surrendering to poverty.
Both ambition and anger will wish to have the same
rights over me as pleasure, and I shall be torn asunder,
or rather pulled to pieces, amid all these conflicting
passions. I have set freedom before my eyes; and
I am striving for that reward. And what is freedom,
you ask? It means not being a slave to any circum-
stance, to any constraint, to any chance; it means
compelling Fortune to enter the lists on equal terms.
And on the day when I know that I have the upper
hand, her power will be naught. When I have
death in my own control, shall I take orders from
her?

Therefore, a man occupied with such reflections
should choose an austere and pure dwelling-place.
The spirit is weakened by surroundings that are too
pleasant, and without a doubt one’s place of residence
can contribute towards impairing its vigour. Animals
whose hoofs are hardened on rough ground can
travel any road; but when they are fattened on
soft marshy meadows their hoofs are soon worn out.
The bravest soldier comes from rock-ribbed regions ;
but the town-bred and the home-bred are sluggish
in action. The hand which turns from the plough to
the sword never objects to toil; but your sleek and
well-dressed dandy quails at the first cloud of dust.
Being trained in a rugged country strengthens the
character and fits it for great undertakings. It was

341

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

honestius Scipio quam Bais exulabat ; ruina eius non
est tam molliter conlocanda. [Illi quoque, ad quos
primos fortuna populi Romani publicas opes transtulit,
C. Marius et Cn. Pompeius et Caesar! extruxerunt
quidem villas in regione Baiana, sed illas inposuerunt
summis iugismontium. Videbatur hoc magis militare,
ex edito speculari late longeque subiecta. Aspice,
quam positionem elegerint, quibus aedificia excita-
verint locis et qualia; scies non villas esse, sed castra.

12 Habitaturum tu putas umquam fuisse in mica?
Catonem, ut praenavigantes adulteras dinumeraret
et tot genera cumbarum variis coloribus picta et
fluvitantem toto lacu rosam, ut audiret canentium
nocturna convicia? Nonne ille manere intra vallum
maluisset, quod in unam noctem manu sua ipse
duxisset? Quidni mallet, quisquis vir est, somnum
suum classico quam symphonia rumpi ?

13. Sed satis diu cum Bais litigavimus, numquam satis
cum vitiis, quae, oro te, Lucili, persequere sine modo,
sine fine. Nam illis quoque nec finis est nec modus.
Proice quaecumque cor tuum laniant, quae si aliter
extrahi nequirent, cor ipsum cum illis revellendum
erat. Voluptates praecipue exturba et invisissimas
habe ; latronum more, quos ¢tAnras* Aegyptii vocant,
in hoc nos amplectuntur, ut strangulent. Vace.

1 Before Caesar Gertz, followed by Hense, adds C.
2 in mica Lipsius; inimica LP. Friedlander, interpreting
mica as a sort of casino, or fancy dining-hall, agrees with

the reading of Lipsius and compares Martial, ii. 59. 1.
3 gAnrds Muretus ; hostilistas L; stilistas P ; pstillistas b.

« See Letter Ixxxvi.

> The Egyptians used the word ¢7An77s in the sense of
*sknave™ or ‘* foot-pad.” The word is found in the Hecale
of Callimachus. Hesychius defines it as equal to Kdoéy
“thief.” It was pronounced in the same way as ¢iAnr7s
‘lover,’ and in late Greek was spelt in the same way.

342

EPISTLE LI.

more honourable in Scipio to spend his exile at
Liternum@ than at Baiae; his downfall did not
need a setting so effeminate. Those also into whose
hands the rising fortunes of Rome first transferred
the wealth of the state, Gaius Marius, Gnaeus
Pompey, and Caesar, did indeed build villas near
Baiae; but they set them on the very tops of the
mountains. This seemed more soldier-like, to look
down from a lofty height upon lands spread far and
wide below. Note the situation, position, and type
of building which they chose; you will see that
they were not country-places,—they were camps.
Do you suppose that Cato would ever have dwelt
in a pleasure-palace, that he might count the lewd
women as they sailed past, the many kinds of barges
painted in all sorts of colours, the roses which were
wafted about the lake, or that he might listen to
the nocturnal brawls of serenaders? Would he not
have preferred to remain in the shelter of a trench
thrown up by his own hands to serve for a single
night? Would not anyone who is a man have his
slumbers broken by a war-trumpet rather than by a
chorus of serenaders ?

But I have been haranguing against Baiae long
enough; although I never could harangue often
enough against vice. Vice, Lucilius, is what I wish
you to proceed against, without limit and without
end. For it has neither limit nor end. If any vice
rend your heart, cast it away from you; and if you
cannot be rid of it in any other way, pluck out your
heart also. Above all, drive pleasures from your
sight. Hate them beyond all other things, for they are
like the bandits whom the Egyptians call “lovers,” ®
who embrace us only to garrotte us. Farewell.

VOL. I M 2 343

1

(aX)

cs

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

LII
Seneca LyvcILIo svo SALVTEM

Quid est hoc, Lucili, quod nos alio tendentes alio
trahit et eo, unde recedere cupimus, inpellit? Quid
conluctatur cum animo nostro nec permittit nobis
quicquamsemelvelle? Fluctuamur inter varia consilia.
Nihil libere volumus, nihil absolute, nihil semper.
‘‘ Stultitia,” inquis, “est, cui nihil constat, nihil diu
placet.”. Sed quomodo nos aut quando ab illa
revellemus? Nemo per se satis valet ut emergat ;
oportet manum aliquis porrigat, aliquis educat.

Quosdam ait Epicurus ad veritatem sine ullius
adiutorio exisse, fecisse sibi ipsos viam. Hos maxime
laudat, quibus ex se impetus fuit, qui se ipsi pro-
tulerunt. Quosdam indigere ope aliena, non ituros,
si nemo praecesserit, sed bene secuturos. Ex his
Metrodorum ait esse; egregium hoc quoque, sed
secundae sortis ingenium. Nos ex illa prima nota
non sumus; bene nobiscum agitur, si in secundam
recipimur. Ne hunc quidem contempseris hominem,
qui alieno beneficio esse salvus potest ; et hoc multum
est, velle servari.

Praeter haec adhuc invenies genus aliud hominum
ne ipsum quidem fastidiendum eorum, qui cogi ad
rectum conpellique possunt, quibus non duce tantum
opus sit, sed adiutore et, ut ita dicam, coactore. Hic

@ Frag. 192 Usener.
344

EPISTLE LII.

LII. ON CHOOSING OUR TEACHERS

What is this force, Lucilius, that drags us in one
direction when we are aiming in another, urging us
on to the exact place from which we long to with-
draw? What is it that wrestles with our spirit, and
does not allow us to desire anything once for all?
We veer from plan to plan. None of our wishes is
free, none is unqualified, none is lasting. “ But it is
the fool,’ you say, “who is inconsistent; nothing
suits him for long.”” But how or when can we tear
ourselves away from this folly? No man by himself
has sufficient strength to rise above it; he needs a
helping hand, and some one to extricate him.

Epicurus * remarks that certain men have worked
their way to the truth without any one’s assistance,
carving out their own passage. And he gives special
praise to these, for their impulse has come from
within, and they have forged to the front by them-
selves. Again, he says, there are others who need
outside help, who will not proceed unless someone
leads the way, but who will follow faithfully. Of
these, he says, Metrodorus was one; this type of
man is also excellent, but belongs to the second grade.
We ourselves are not of that first class, either; we
shall be well treated if we are admitted into the
second. Nor need you despise a man who can gain
salvation only with the assistance of another; the
will to be saved means a great deal, too.

You will find still another class of man,—and a
class not to be despised,—who can be forced and
driven into righteousness, who do not need a guide
as much as they require someone to encourage and,
as it were, to force them along. This is the third

345

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tertius color est. Si quaeris huius quoque exemplar,
Hermarchum ait Epicurus talem fuisse. Itaque alteri
magis gratulatur, alterum magis suspicit; quamvis
enim ad eundem finem uterque pervenerit, tamen
maior est laus idem effecisse in difficiliore materia.

5 Puta enim duo aedificia excitata esse, ab imo! dis-
paria, aeque excelsa atque magnifica. Alterum puram
aream accepit; illic protinus opus crevit. Alterum
fundamenta lassarunt in mollem et fluvidam humum
missa multumque laboris exhaustum est, dum per-
venitur ad solidum. Intuenti ambo? quicquid fecit
alter in aperto est, alterius * magna pars et difficilior

6 latet. Quaedam ingenia facilia, expedita, quaedam
manu, quod aiunt, facienda sunt et in fundamentis
suis occupata. Itaque illum ego feliciorem dixerim,
qui nihil negotii secum habuit, hune quidem melius
de se meruisse, qui malignitatem naturae suae vicit
et ad sapientiam se non perduxit, sed extraxit.

7 Hoc durum ac Jaboriosum ingenium nobis datum
scias licet. Imus per obstantia. Itaque pugnemus,
aliquorum invocemus auxilium. “Quem,” inquis,
“invocabo? Hunc aut illum*?” Tu vero etiam ad
priores revertere, qui vacant; adiuvare nos possunt

1 ab imo Buecheler ; ambo MSS.

2 intuenti ambo Buecheler ; inveniebo LPb.

3 fecit alter in aperto est, alterius Hense (alter in the later
MSS) ; fecit alterius LPb.

* I have included hunc aut illum in the question of
Lucilius. Hense gives to Seneca.

* i.e., that of Metrodorus, who had the happier nature.

> t.¢., a representative of this school or that. Seneca’s
reply is, in effect, ‘‘ Upon no present school; go to the
ancients.”

346

EPISTLE LII.

variety. If you ask me for a man of this pattern
also, Epicurus tells us that Hermarchus was such.
And of the two last-named classes, he is more ready
to congratulate the one,® but he feels more respect
for the other; for although both reached the same
goal, it is a greater credit to have brought about the
same result with the more difficult material upon
which to work.

Suppose that two buildings have been erected,
unlike as to their foundations, but equal in height and
in grandeur. One is built on faultless ground, and the
process of erection goes right ahead. In the other
ease, the foundations have exhausted the building
materials, for they have been sunk into soft and
shifting ground and much labour has been wasted in
reaching the solid rock. As one looks at both of
them, one sees clearly what progress the former has
made, but the larger and more difficult part of the
latter is hidden. So with men’s dispositions ; some
are pliable and easy to manage, but others have to
be laboriously wrought out by hand, so to speak,
and are wholly employed in the making of their
own foundations. I should accordingly deem more
fortunate the man who has never had any trouble
with himself; but the other, I feel, has deserved
better of himself, who has won a victory over the
meanness of his own nature, and has not gently led
himself, but has wrestled his way, to wisdom.

You may be sure that this refractory nature,
which demands much toil, has been implanted in us.
There are obstacles in our path; so let us fight,
and call to our assistance some helpers. ‘ Whom,”
you say, “shall I call upon? Shall it be this man or
that®?’’ There is another choice also open to you;
you may go to the ancients; for they have the

347

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

8 non tantum qui sunt, sed qui fuerunt. Ex his autem,
qui sunt, eligamus non eos, qui verba magna celeritate
praecipitant et communes locos volvunt et in privato
circulantur,sed eos, qui vita! docent, qui cum dixerunt,
quid faciendum sit, probant faciendo, qui docent, quid
vitandum sit, nec umquam in eo, quod fugiendum
dixerunt, deprehenduntur.

Eum elige adiutorem, quem magis admireris, cum

9 videris quam cum audieris. Nec ideo te prohibuerim
hos quoque audire, quibus admittere populum ac
disserere consuetudo est, si modo hoe proposito in
turbam prodeunt, ut meliores fiant faciantque meliores,
si non ambitionis hoc causa exercent. Quid enim
turpius philosophia captante clamores? Numquid

10 aeger laudat medicum secantem? Tacete, favete et
praebete vos curationi. Etiam si exclamaveritis, non
aliter audiam, quam si ad tactum vitiorum vestrorum
ingemescatis. ‘estari vultis adtendere vos moveri-
que magnitudine rerum? Sane liceat; ut quidem
iudicetis et feratis de meliore suffragium, quidni non
permittam? Apud Pythagoram discipulis quinque
annis tacendum erat; numquid ergo existimas statim
illis et logui et laudare licuisse ?

ll Quanta autem dementia eius est, quem clamores
inperitorum hilarem ex auditorio dimittunt? Quid
laetaris, quod ab hominibus his laudatus es, quos non

1 vita Muretus; vitam LPb; Hense suggests vitam
vita.

* Circulatores were travelling showmen who performed
sword-swallowing and snake-charming feats, or cheap stump
speakers who displayed their eloquence at the street-corners
in the hope of a few pence. The word is also found in the
sense of ‘* pedlar”’.

’ This and what follows, to § 11, are the words with
which a true philosopher is supposed to address his hearers.

348

EPISTLE LIL.

time tohelp you. Wecan get assistance not only from
the living, but from those of the past. Let us choose,
however, from among the living, not men who pour
forth their words with the greatest glibness, turning
out commonplaces, and holding, as it were, their own
little private exhibitions,7—not these, I say, but men
who teach us by their lives, men who tell us what we
ought to do and then prove it by practice, who show
us what we should avoid, and then are never caught
doing that which they have ordered us to avoid.

Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more
when you see him act than when you hear him speak.
Of course I would not prevent you from listening
also to those philosophers who are wont to hold
public meetings and discussions, provided they appear
before the people for the express purpose of improving
themselves and others, and do not practise their
profession for the sake of self-seeking. For what is
baser than philosophy courting applause? Does the
sick man praise the surgeon while he is operating?
In silence and with reverent awe submit to the
cure. Even though you cry applause, I shall listen
to your cries as if you were groaning when your sores
were touched. Do you wish to bear witness that you
are attentive, that you are stirred by the grandeur
of the subject? You may do this at the proper time:
I shall of course allow you to pass judgment and cast
a vote as to the bettcr course. Pythagoras made his
pupils keep silence for five years; do you think that
they had the right on that account to break out
immediately into applause?

How mad is he who leaves the lecture-room in a
happy frame of mind simply because of applause from
the ignorant! Why do you take pleasure in being
praised by men whom you yourself cannot praise?

349

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

potes ipse laudare? Disserebat populo Fabianus, sed
audiebatur modeste. Erumpebat interdum magnus
clamor laudantium, sed quem rerum magnitudo
evocaverat, non sonus inoffense ac molliter orationis
12 elapsae. Intersit aliquid inter clamorem theatri et
scholae ; est aliqua et laudandi decentia.1 Omnia
rerum omnium, si observentur, indicia sunt et argu-
mentum morum ex minimis quoque licet capere:
inpudicum et incessus ostendit et manus mota et
unum interdum responsum et relatus ad caput digitus
et flexus oculorum. Inprobum risus, insanum vultus
habitusque demonstrat. Illa enim in apertum per
notas exeunt; qualis quisque sit, scies, si quemad-
modum laudet, quemadmodum laudetur, aspexeris.
13 Hine atque illine philosopho manus auditor intentat
et super ipsum caput mirantium turba consistit ; non
laudatur ille nunc, si intellegis, sed conclamatur.
Relinquantur istae voces illis artibus, quae propositum
14 habent populo placere; philosophia adoretur. Per-
mittendum erit aliquando iuvenibus sequi impetum
animi, tunc autem, cum hoc ex impetu facient, cum
silentium sibi imperare non poterunt. Talis Jaudatio
aliquid exhortationis adfert ipsis audientibus et
animos adulescentium exstimulat. Ad rem commo-
veantur, non ad verba conposita; alioquin nocet illis
eloquentia, si non rerum cupiditatem facit, sed sui.

1 decentia Koch; licentia LPb; scientia later MSS. Gertz
con). diligentia.

¢ The scratching of the head with one finger was for
some reason regarded as a mark of effeminacy or of vice;
cf. the charge brought against Pompey, Plutarch, Moralia,
89 © and Ammianus, 17. 11 quod genuino quodam more
caput digito uno scalpebat . . . ut dissolutum. Compare
also Juvenal, ix. 133 scalpere caput digito.
350

EPISTLE LII.

Fabianus used to give popular talks, but his audience
listened with self-control. Occasionally a loud shout
of praise would burst forth, but it was prompted by
the greatness of his subject, and not by the sound of
oratory that slipped forth pleasantly and _ softly.
There should be a difference between the applause
of the theatre and the applause of the school; and
there is a certain decency even in bestowing praise.
If you mark them carefully, all acts are always sig-
nificant, and you can gauge character by even the
most trifling signs. The lecherous man is revealed
by his gait, by a movement of the hand, sometimes
by a single answer, by his touching his head with a
finger,* by the shifting of his eye. The scamp is
shown up by his laugh; the madman by his face
and general appearance. These qualities become
known by certain marks; but you can tell the
character of every man when you see how he gives
and receives praise. The philosopher's audience,
from this corner and that, stretch forth admiring
hands, and sometimes the adoring crowd almost hang
over the lecturer’s head. But, if you really under-
stand, that is not praise; it is merely applause.
These outcries should be left for the arts which aim
to please the crowd; let philosophy be worshipped
in silence. Young men, indeed, must sometimes
have free play to follow their impulses, but it should -
only be at times when they act from impulse,
and when they cannot force themselves to be silent.
Such praise as that gives a certain kind of encourage-
ment to the hearers themselves, and acts as a spur to
the youthful mind. But let them be roused to the
matter, and not to the style; otherwise, eloquence
does them harm, making them enamoured of itself,
and not of the subject.

351

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

15 Differam hoc in praesentia; desiderat enim pro-
priam et longam exsecutionem, quemadmodum populo
disserendum, quid sibi apud populum permittendum
sit, quid populo apud se. Damnum quidem fecisse
philosophiam non erit dubium, postquam prostituta
est. Sed potest in penetralibus suis ostendi, si modo
non institorem, sed antistitem nancta est. Vater.

LLL.
Seneca LvcILIO svo SALVTEM

1 Quid non potest mihi persuaderi, cui persuasum
est ut navigarem? Solvi mari languido. Erat sine
dubio caelum grave sordidis nubibus, quae fere aut
in aquam aut in ventum resolvuntur. Sed _ putavi
tam pauca milia a Parthenope tua usque Puteolos
subripi posse, quamvis dubio et inpendente caelo.
Itaque quo celerius evaderem, protinus per altum ad

2 Nesida derexi praecisurus omnes sinus. Cum iam eo
processissem, ut mea nihil interesset, utrum irem an
redirem, primum aequalitas illa, quae me corruperat,
periit. Nondum erat tempestas, sed iam inclinatio
maris ae subinde crebrior fluctus. Coepi gubernatorem
rogare, ut me in aliquo litore exponeret. Aiebat ille
aspera esse et inportuosa nec quicquam se aeque in

3 tempestate timere quam terram. Peius autemvexabar,

2 ‘The poetical name for Naples; perhaps it was once a
town near by which gave a sort of romantic second title to
the larger city. Professor Summers thinks that this poetical
name, together with tua, indicates a reference to a passage
from the verse of Lucilius. Perhaps, however, tua means
nothing more than ‘* the place which you love so well,” being
in the neighbourhood of Pompeii, the birthplace of Lucilius.

> An islet near the mouth of the bay wherein Baiae was
Sage Puteoli was on the opposite side of the bay from
alae,

352

EPISTLES LIT., LII.

I shall postpone this topic for the present; it
demands a long and special investigation, to show
how the public should be addressed, what indulgences
should be allowed to a speaker on a public occasion,
and what should be allowed to the crowd itself in
the presence of the speaker. There can be no doubt
that philosophy has suffered a loss, now that she has
exposed her charms for sale. But she can still be
viewed in her sanctuary, if her exhibitor is a priest
and not a pedlar. Farewell.

MONE cavities OF TBE Srenrr

You can persuade me into almost anything now,
for I was recently persuaded to travel by water. We
cast off when the sea was lazily smooth; the sky, to
be sure, was heavy with nasty clouds, such as usually
break into rain or squalls. Still, I thought that the
few miles between Puteoli and your dear Parthe-
nope® might be run off in quick time, despite the
uncertain and lowering sky. So, in order to get
away more quickly, I made straight out to sea for
Nesis,? with the purpose of cutting across all the
inlets. But when we were so far out that it made
little difference to me whether I returned or kept
on, the calm weather, which had enticed me, came
to naught. The storm had not yet begun, but the
ground-swell was on, and the waves kept steadily
coming faster. I began to ask the pilot to put me
ashore somewhere; he replied that the coast was
rough and a bad place to land, and that in a storm
he feared a lee shore more than anything else. But

353

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quam ut mihi periculum succurreret. Nausia enim
me segnis haee et sine exitu torquebat, quae bilem
movet nec effundit. Institi itaque gubernatori et
illum, vellet nollet, coegi, peteret litus. Cuius ut
viciniam attigimus, non expecto, ut quicquam ex
praeceptis Vergilii fiat,

Obvertunt pelago proras

aut
Ancora de prora iacitur ,

memor artificii mei vetus frigidae cultor mitto me in
mare, quomodo psychrolutam decet, gausapatus.

4 Quae putas me passum, dum per aspera erepo, dum
viam quaero, dum facio? Intellexi non inmerito
nautis terram timeri. Incredibilia sunt, quae tulerim,
cum me ferre non possem!; illud scito, Vlixem non
fuisse tam irato mari natum, ut ubique naufragia
faceret; nausiatorerat. Et ego quocumque navigare
debuero, vicensimo anno perveniam.

5 Ut primum stomachum, quem scis non cum mari
nausiam effugere, collegi, ut corpus unctione recreavi,
hoc coepi mecum cogitare, quanta nos vitiorum
nostrorum sequeretur oblivio, etiam corporalium,
quae subinde admonent sui, nedum illorum, quae eo

§ magis latent, quo maiora sunt. Levis aliquem motiun-
cula decipit; sed cum crevit et vera febris exarsit,

1 possem Erasmus ; possim MSS.

@ Aeneid, vi. 3. This was the usual method of mooring a
ship in ancient times.

’ Aeneid, iii. 277.

¢ Compare Lp. Ixxxiii. 5.

@ Ulysses took ten years on his journey, because of sea-
sickness ; Seneca will need twice as many.

354

EPISTLE LIII.

I was suffering too grievously to think of the danger,
since a sluggish seasickness which brought no relief
was racking me, the sort that upsets the liver without
clearing it. Therefore I laid down the law to my
pilot, forcing him to make for the shore, willy-nilly.
When we drew near, | did not wait for things to be
done in accordance with Vergil’s orders, until

Prow faced seawards 4
or
Anchor plunged from bow ;?

I remembered my profession ° as a veteran devotee of
cold water, and, clad as I was in my cloak, let myself
down into the sea, just as a cold-water bather should.
What do you think my feelings were, scrambling
over the rocks, searching out the path, or making
one for myself? I understood that sailors have good
reason to fear the land. It is hard to believe what
I endured when IJ could not endure myself; you may
be sure that the reason why Ulysses was shipwrecked
on every possible occasion was not so much because
the sea-god was angry with him from his birth; he
was simply subject to seasickness. And in the future
I also, if I must go anywhere by sea, shall only reach
my destination in the twentieth year.?

When I finally calmed my stomach (for you
know that one does not escape seasickness by escaping
from the sea) and refreshed my body with a rub-
down, I began to reflect how completely we forget
or ignore our failings, even those that affect the body,
which are continually reminding us of their existence,
—not to mention those which are more serious in
proportion as they are more hidden. A slight ague
deceives us; but when it has increased and a genuine
fever has begun to burn, it forces even a hardy man,

355

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

etiam duro et perpessicio confessionem excipit
Pedes dolent, articuli punctiunculas sentiunt ; adhuc
dissimulamus et aut talum extorsisse dicimus nos aut
in exercitatione aliqua laborasse. Dubio et incipiente
morbo quaeritur nomen, qui ubi etiam talaria! coepit
intendere et utrosque dextros? pedes fecit, necesse

7 est podagram fateri. Contra evenit in his morbis,
quibus adficiuntur animi; quo quis peius se habet,
minus sentit. Non est quod mireris, Lucili carissime.
Nam qui leviter dormit, et species secundum quietem
capit et aliquando dormire se dormiens cogitat ; gravis
sopor etiam somnia extinguit animumque altius

8 mergit, quam ut in ullo intellectu sui sit. Quare
vitia sua nemo confitetur? Quia etiamnunc in illis
est ; somnium narrare vigilantis est, et vitia sua con-
fiteri sanitatis indicium est.

Expergiscamur ergo, ut errores nostros coarguere
possimus. Sola autem nos philosophia excitabit, sola
somnum excutiet gravem. Illi te totum dedica.
Dignus illa es, illa digna te est; ite in conplexum alter
alterius. Omnibus aliis rebus te nega, fortiter, aperte.
Non est quod precario philosopheris.

9 Si aeger esses, curam intermisisses rei familiaris
et forensia tibi negotia excidissent nee quemquam
tanti putares, cui advocatus in remissione descenderes.
Toto animo id ageres, ut quam primum morbo libera-

‘ etiam talaria Hense; ut talaria MSS.

? Hense suspects dextros, for which Toup conjectured
distortos, comparing Ep. Ixvii. 3.

3 ut in ullo intellectu sui sit Schultess; ut in ullo intellectus
sui est L; ut in nullo intellectu sui est V 3 uti nullo intellectu
sui est pPb.

« Thatis, they are so swollen that left and right look alike.

> Literally ‘‘on sufferance,” whenever other matters
permit. Cf. Pliny, Ep. vii. 30 precario studeo,—*‘ subject
to interruption from others.”

356

EPISTLE LIII.

who can endure much suffering, to admit that he is
ill. There is pain in the foot, and a tingling sensa-
tion in the joints; but we still hide the complaint
and announce that we have sprained a joint, or else
are tired from over-exercise. Then the ailment, un-
certain at first, must be given a name; and when
it begins to swell the ankles also, and has made both
our feet “right” feet,t we are bound to confess that
we have the gout. The opposite holds true of diseases
of the soul; the worse one is, the less one perceives
it. You need not be surprised, my beloved Lucilius.
For he whose sleep is light pursues visions during
slumber, and sometimes, though asleep, is conscious
that he is asleep ; but sound slumber annihilates our
very dreams and sinks the spirit down so deep that
it has no perception of self. Why will no man
confess his faults? Because he is still in their
grasp ; only he who is awake can recount his dream,
and similarly a confession of sin is a proof of sound
mind.

Let us, therefore, rouse ourselves, that we may be
able to correct our mistakes. Philosophy, however,
is the only power that can stir us, the only power
that can shake off our deep slumber. Devote your-
self wholly to philosophy. You are worthy of her;
she is worthy of you; greet one another with a loving
embrace. Say farewell to all other interests with
courage and frankness. Do not study philosophy
merely during your spare time.?

If you were ill, you would stop caring for your
personal concerns, and forget your business duties ;
you would not think highly enough of any client to
take active charge of his case during a slight abate-
ment of your sufferings. You would try your hardest
to be rid of the illness as soon as possible. What,

357

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

reris Quid ergo? Non et nunc idem facies?
Omnia inpedimenta dimitte et vaca bonae menti;
nemoadillam pervenit occupatus. Exercet philosophia
regnum suum; dat tempus, non accipit. Non est
res subsiciva, ordinaria est; domina est, adesse iubet.}

10 Alexandercuidam civitati partem agrorum et dimidium

rerum omnium promittenti “ Eo,” inquit, “ proposito
in Asiam veni, ut non id acciperem, quod dedissetis,
sed ut id haberetis, quod reliquissem.” Idem
philosophia rebus omnibus, “ Non sum hoc tempus
acceptura, quod vobis superfuerit, sed id vos habebitis,
quod ipsa reiecero.?”’

Totam huc converte mentem, huic adside, hanc
ecole; ingens intervallum inter te et ceteros fiet.
Omnes mortales multo antecedes, non multo te di
antecedent. Quaeris, quid inter te et illos inter-
futurum sit? Diutius erunt At mehercules magni
artificis est clusisse totum in exiguo. Tantum
sapienti sua, quantum deo omnis aetas patet. Est
aliquid, quo sapiens antecedat deum: ille naturae

12 beneficio non timet, suo sapiens. Ecce res magna,

habere inbecillitatem hominis, securitatem dei
Incredibilis philosophiae vis est ad omnem fortuitam
vim retundendam. Nullum telum in corpore eius
sedet; munita est, solida Quaedam defetigat et

a eens re ns ere eee an

reiecero Lipsius: re aegero p; re egero L; reegero PV.
Haase conj. erogaro, Mueck relegaro.

358

g

EPISTLE LIII.

then? Shall you not do the same thing now? Throw
aside all hindrances and give up your time to getting
a sound mind; for no man can attain it if he is
engrossed in other matters. Philosophy wields her
own authority ; she appoints her own time and does
not allow it to be appointed for her. She is not
a thing to be followed at odd times, but a subject
for daily practice ; she is mistress, and she commands
our attendance. Alexander, when a certain state
promised him a part of its territory and half its entire
property, replied : “ Il invaded Asia with the intention,
not of accepting what you might give, but of allowing
you to keep what I might leave.” Philosophy like-
wise keeps saying to all occupations: “Ido not in-
tend to accept the time which you have left over, but
I shall allow you to keep what I myself shall leave.’
Turn to her, therefore, with all your soul, sit at
her feet, cherish her; a great distance will then
begin to separate you from other men. You will be
far ahead of all mortals, and even the gods will not
be far ahead of you. Do you ask what will be the
difference between yourself and the gods? They
will live longer. But, by my faith, it is the sign of
a great artist to have confined a full likeness to the
limits of a miniature. The wise man’s life spreads out
to him over as large a surface as does all eternity to
a god. There is one point in which the sage has an
advantage over the god; for a god is freed from
terrors by the bounty of nature, the wise man by his
own bounty. What a wonderful privilege, to have
the weaknesses of a man and the serenity of a god!
The power of philosophy to blunt the blows of
chance is beyond belief. No missile can settle in
her body; she is well-protected and impenetrable.
She spoils the force of some missiles and wards them
359

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

velut levia tela laxo sinu eludit, quaedam discutit et
in eum usque, qui miserat, respuit. VALE.

LAML
Seneca Lyciio svo SALVTEM

1 Longum mihi commeatum! dederat mala valitudo ;
repente me invasit. “Quo genere?”’ inquis. Prorsus
merito interrogas; adeo nullum mihi ignotum est.
Uni tamen morbo quasi adsignatus sum, quem quare
Graeco nomine appellem nescio; satis enim apte
dici suspirium potest. Brevis autem valde et pro-
cellae similis est impetus; intra horam fere desinit.

2 Quis enim diu exspirat? Omnia corporis aut in-
commoda aut pericula per me transierunt; nullum
mihi videtur molestius. Quidni? Aliud enim quic-
quid est, aegrotare est, hoc animam egerere. Itaque
medici hance “ meditationem mortis’’ vocant. Faciet ?
enim aliquando spiritus ille, quod saepe conatus est.

3 Hilarem me putas haec tibi scribere, quia effugi?
Tam ridicule facio, si hoc fine quasi bona valitudine
delector, quam ille, quisquis vicisse se putat, cum
vadimonium distulit. Ego vero et in ipsa suffocatione
non desii cogitationibus laetis ac fortibus adquiescere.

4 “Quid hoc est?” inquam. “Tam saepe mors

1 commeatum Lipsius ; comitatum MSS.
2 facict Lipsius ; facit MSS.

@ 7.e., asthma. Seneca thinks that the Latin name is
good enough.

> Celsus (iv. 8) gives this disease as the second of those
which deal with the respiratory organs : cum vehementior est,
ut spirare aeger sine sono et anhelatione non possit.

360

EPISTLES LIII., LIV.

off with the loose folds of her gown, as if they had
no power to harm; others she dashes aside, and
hurls them back with such force that they recoil
upon the sender. Farewell.

LIV. ON ASTHMA AND DEATH

My ill-health had allowed me a long furlough,
when suddenly it resumed the attack. “ What kind
of ill-health?” you say. And you surely have a
right to ask ; for it is true that no kind is unknown
tome. But I have been consigned, so to speak, to
one special ailment. I do not know why I should
call it by its Greek name“; for it is well enough
described as “shortness of breath.” Its attack is of
very brief duration, like that of a squall at sea; it
usually ends within an hour. Who indeed could
breathe his last for long? I have passed through all
the ills and dangers of the flesh; but nothing seems
to me more troublesome than this. And naturally
so; for anything else may be called illness; but this
is a sort of continued “ last gasp.” ® Hence physicians
call it “ practising how to die.” For some day the
breath will succeed in doing what it has so often
essayed. Do you think I am writing this letter in a
merry spirit, just because I have escaped? It would
be absurd to take delight in such supposed restoration
to health, as it would be for a defendant to imagine
that he had won his case when he had succeeded in
postponing his trial. Yet in the midst of my difficult
breathing I never ceased to rest secure in cheerful
and brave thoughts.

“ What?” I say to myself; “does death so often

361

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

experitur me? Faciat; ego! illam diu expertus
sum.” “Quando?” inquis. Antequam_nascerer.
Mors est non esse; id quale sit, iam scio. Hoc
erit post me, quod ante me fuit. Si quid in hac
re tormenti est, necesse est et fuisse, antequam
prodiremus in lucem; atqui nullam sensimus tune
vexationem. Rogo, non stultissimum dicas, si quis
existimet lucernae peius esse, cum extincta est,
quam antequam accenditur? Nos quoque et ex-
tinguimur et accendimur ; medio illo tempore aliquid
patimur, utrimque vero alta securitas est. In hoc
enim, mi Lucili, nisi fallor, erramus, quod mortem
iudicamus sequi, cum illa et praecesserit et secutura
sit. Quicquid ante nos fuit, mors est. Quid enim
refert, non incipias an desinas, cum utriusque rei hic
sit effectus, non esse ?

His et eiusmodi exhortationibus, tacitis scilicet,
nam verbis locus non erat, adloqui me non desii.
Deinde paulatim suspirium illud, quod esse iam
anhelitus coeperat, intervalla maiora fecit et retar-
datum est ac remansit. Nec adhuc, quamvis desierit,
ex natura fluit spiritus ; sentio haesitationem quandam
eius et moram. Quomodo volet, dummodo non ex
animo suspirem. Hoc tibi de me recipe; non
trepidabo ad extrema, iam praeparatus sum, nihil
cogito de die toto. [llum tu lauda et imitare, quem

1 Before ego the MSS. read at; Gertz removed it from
the text.

@ i.e., that the sigh be physical,—an asthmatic gasp,—and
not caused by anguish of soul.

®’ The argument is: I am ready to die, but do not praise
me on that account ; reserve your praise for him who is not
loth to die, though (unlike me) he finds it a pleasure to live
(because he is in good health). Yes, for there is no more
virtue in accepting death when one hates life, than there is
in leaving a place when one is ejected.

362

EPISTLE LIV.

test me? Let it do so; I myself have for a long time
tested death.” “When?” you ask. Before I was
born. Death is non-existence, and J] know already
what that means. What was before me will happen
again after me. If there is any suffering in this state,
there must have been such suffering also in the past,
before we entered the light of day. As a matter of
fact, however, we felt no discomfort then. And I
ask you, would you not say that one was the greatest
of fools who believed that a lamp was worse off when
it was extinguished than before it was lighted ?
We mortals also are lighted and extinguished; the
period of suffering comes in between, but on either
side there is a deep peace. JT or, unless I am very
much mistaken, my dear Lucilius, we go astray in
thinking that death only follows, when in reality it
has both preceded us and will in turn follow us.
Whatever condition existed before our birth, is death.
For what does it matter whether you do not begin
at all, or whether you leave off, inasmuch as the
result of both these states is non-existence?

I have never ceased to encourage myself with
cheering counsels of this kind, silently, of course, since
I had not the power to speak ; then little by little this
shortness of breath, already reduced to a sort of
panting, came on at greater intervals, and then
slowed down and finally stopped. Even by this
time, although the gasping has ceased, the breath
does not come and go normally; | still feel a sort of
hesitation and delay in breathing. Let it be as it
pleases, provided there be no sigh from the soul.
Accept this assurance from me: I shall never be
frightened when the last hour comes; I am already
prepared and do not plan a whole day ahead. But
do you praise” and imitate the man whem it does not

363

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

non piget mori, cum iuvet vivere. Quae est enim
virtus cum eiciaris exire? Jamen est et hic virtus;
eicior quidem, sed tanquam exeam. Et ideo num-
quam eicitur sapiens, quia eici est inde expelli, unde
invitus recedas; nihil invitus facit sapiens, necessi-
tatem effugit, quia vult quod coactura est. VALE.

LY.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

A gestatione cum maxime venio non minus fati-
gatus, quam si tantum ambulassem, quantum sedi.
Labor est enim et diu ferri, ac nescio an eo maior,
quia contra naturam est, quae pedes dedit, ut per
nos ambularemus, oculos, ut per nos videremus. De-
bilitatem nobis indixere deliciae, et quod diu nolui-
mus, posse desimus. Mihi tamen necessarium erat
concutere corpus, ut sive bilis insederat faucibus,
discuteretur, sive ipse ex aliqua causa spiritus densior
erat, extenuaret illum iactatio, quam profuisse mihi
sensi. Ideo diutius vehi perseveravi invitante ipso
litore, quod inter Cumas et Servili Vatiae villam
curvatur et hine mari, illinc lacu velut angustum
iter cluditur. Erat enim a recenti tempestate spis-

@ Cumae was on the coast about six miles north of Cape
Misenum. Lake Acheron (see § 6) was a salt-water pool
between those two points, separated from the sea by a sand-
bar; it lay near Lake Avernus and probably derived its name
from that fact. The Vatia mentioned here is unknown;
he must not be confused with Isauricus.

364

EPISTLES LIV., LV.

irk to die, though he takes pleasure in living. For
what virtue is there in going away when you are
thrust out? And yet there is virtue even in this: I
am indeed thrust out, but it is as if I were going
away willingly. For that reason the wise man can
never be thrust out, because that would mean removal
from a place which he was unwilling to leave; and
the wise man does nothing unwillingly. He escapes
necessity, because he wills to do what necessity is
about to force upon him. Farewell.

LV. ON VATIA’S VILLA

I have just returned from a ride in my litter;
and I am as weary as if I had walked the distance,
instead of being seated. Even to be carried for any
length of time is hard work, perhaps all the more so
because it is an unnatural exercise; for Nature gave
us legs with which to do our own walking, and eyes
with which to do our own seeing. Our luxuries
have condemned us to weakness; we have ceased
to be able to do that which we have long declined
to do. Nevertheless, I found it necessary to give
my body a shaking up, in order that the bile which
had gathered in my throat, if that was my trouble,
might be shaken out, or, if the very breath within
me had become, for some reason, too thick, that the
jolting, which I have felt was a good thing for me,
might make it thinner. So I insisted on being
carried longer than usual, along an attractive beach,
which bends between Cumae and Servilius Vatia’s
country-house,* shut in by the sea on one side and
the lake on the other, just like a narrow path. It
was packed firm under foot, because of a recent

865

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sum. Fluctus autem illud, ut scis, frequens et con-
citatus exaequat, longior tranquillitas solvit, cum
harenis, quae umore alligantur, sucus abscessit.

3 Ex consuetudine tamen mea circumspicere coepi,
an aliquid illic invenirem, quod mihi posset bono
esse, et derexi! oculos in villam, quae aliquando Vatiae
fuit. In hac ille praetorius dives, nulla alia re quam
otio notus, consenuit et ob hoc unum felix habebatur.
Nam quotiens aliquos amicitiae Asinii Galli, quotiens
Seiani odium, deinde amor merserat, aeque enim
offendisse illum quam amasse periculosum fuit, ex-
clamabant homines: “ O Vatia, solus scis vivere.”’

4 At ille latere sciebat, non vivere. Multum autem
interest, utrum vita tua otiosa sit an ignava. Num-
quam aliter hance villam Vatia vivo praeteribam, quam
ut dicerem: “ Vatia hic situs est.”

Sed adeo, mi Lucili, philosophia sacrum quiddam
est et venerabile, ut etiam, si quid illi simile est,
mendacio placeat. Otiosum enim hominem seductum
existimat vulgus et securum et se contentum, sibi
viventem, quorum nihil ulli contingere nisi sapienti

5 potest. Ille sollicitus scit sibi vivere?? Ile enim,
quod est primum, scit vivere? Nam qui res et
homines fugit, quem cupiditatum suarum infelicitas

1 derexi Hense; direxi MSS.

2 This and the next sentence are punctuated according to
Summers ; Hense takes them as declarations, but suggests
solus non sollicitus, since solus is added above the line in V,
and in P sollicitus has been corrected to solus.

@ Son of Asinius Pollio; his frankness got him into trouble
and he died of starvation in a dungeon in a.p. 33. Tacitus,
Ann. i. 13. 2, quotes Augustus, discussing his own successor,
as saying of Gallus avidus et minor. Sejanus was over-
thrown and executed in a.p. 31.

> 2.¢., after his fall.

366

EPISTLE LV.

storm; since, as you know, the waves, when they
beat upon the beach hard and fast, level it out;
but a continuous period of fair weather loosens it,
when the sand, which is kept firm by the water, loses
its moisture.

As my habit is, 1 began to look about for some-
thing there that might be of service to me, when
my eyes fell upon the villa which had once belonged
to Vatia. So this was the place where that famous
praetorian millionaire passed his old age! He was
famed for nothing else than his life of leisure, and
he was regarded as lucky only for that reason. For
whenever men were ruined by their friendship with
Asinius Gallus, whenever others were ruined by
their hatred of Sejanus, and later ® by their intimacy
with him,—for it was no more dangerous to have
offended him than to have loved him,—people used
to cry out: “O Vatia, you alone know how to live!”
But what he knew was how to hide, not how to
live; and it makes a great deal of difference whether
your life be one of leisure or one of idleness. So I
never drove past his country-place during Vatia’s life-
time without saying to myself: “Here lies Vatia!”’

But, my dear Lucilius, philosophy is a thing of
holiness, something to be worshipped, so much so that
the very counterfeit pleases. For the mass of man-
kind consider that a person is at leisure who has with-
drawn from society, is free from care, self-sufficient,
and lives for himself; but these privileges can be
the reward only of the wise man. Does he who is
a victim of anxiety know how to live for himself?
What? Does he even know (and that is of first import-
ance) how to live at all? For the man who has fled
from affairs and from men, who has been banished
to seclusion by the unhappiness which his own

VOL. I N 367

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

relegavit, qui alios feliciores videre non potuit, qui
velut timidum atque iners animal metu oblituit, ille
sibi non vivit, sed, quod est turpissimum, ventri,
somno, libidini. Non continuo sibi vivit, qui nemini.
Adeo tamen magna res est constantia et in proposito
suo perseverantia, ut habeat auctoritatem inertia
quoque pertinax.

6 De ipsa villa nihil tibi possum certi scribere.
Frontem enim eius tantum novi et exposita, quae
ostendit etiam transeuntibus. Speluncae sunt duae
magni operis, cuivis’ laxo atrio pares, manu factae,
quarum altera solem non recipit, altera usque in
occidentem tenet. Platanona medius rivus et a mari
et ab Acherusio lacu receptus euripi modo dividit,
alendis piscibus, etiam si adsidue exhauriatur,
sufficiens. Sed illi, cum mare patet, parcitur;
cum tempestas piscatoribus dedit ferias, manus

7 ad parata porrigitur. Hoc tamen est commodis-
simum in villa, quod Baias trans parietem habet;
incommodis illarum caret, voluptatibus fruitur. Has
Jaudes eius ipse novi; esse illam totius anni credo.
Occurrit enim favonio et illum adeo excipit, ut
Bais neget. Non stulte videtur elegisse hune locum

1 cuivis Lipsius ; cuius MSS.

@ 7.e., imposes on us.

> Literally, ‘‘like a Euripus,” referring to the narrow
strait which divides Euboea from Boeotia at Chalcis. Its
current is swift.

368

J

EPISTLE LV.

desires have brought upon him, who cannot see his
neighbour more happy than himself, who through
fear has taken to concealment, like a frightened and
sluggish animal,—this person is not living for him-
self; he is living for his belly, his sleep, and his lust,
—and that is the most shameful thing in the world.
He who lives for no one does not necessarily live
for himself. Nevertheless, there is so much in
steadfastness and adherence to one’s purpose that
even sluggishness, if stubbornly maintained, assumes
an air of authority % with us.

I could not describe the villa accurately ; for I
am familiar only with the front of the house, and
with the parts which are in public view and can be
seen by the mere passer-by. There are two grottoes,
which cost a great deal of labour, as big as the most
spacious hall, made by hand. One of these does not
admit the rays of the sun, while the other keeps them
until the sun sets. There is also a stream run-
ning through a grove of plane-trees, which draws for
its supply both on the sea and on Lake Acheron; it
intersects the grove just like a race-way,? and is
large enough to support fish, although its waters are
continually being drawn off. When the sea is calm,
however, they do not use the stream, only touching
the well-stocked waters when the storms give the
fishermen a forced holiday. But the most convenient
thing about the villa is the fact that Baiae is next
door, it is free from all the inconveniences of that
resort, and yet enjoys its pleasures. I myself under-
stand these attractions, and I believe that it is a villa
suited to every season of the year. It fronts the west
wind, which it intercepts in such a way that Baiae
is denied it. So it seems that Vatia was no fool
when he selected this place as the best in which to

369

8

10

11

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Vatia, in quem otium suum pigrum iam et senile
conferret.

Sed non multum ad tranquillitatem locus confert ;
animus est, qui sibi commendet omnia. Vidi ego in
villa hilari et amoena maestos, vidi in media solitudine
occupatis similes. Quare non est quod existimes
ideo parum bene conpositum esse te, quod in Cam-
pania non es. Quare autem non es? Huc usque
cogitationes tuas mitte. Conversari cum amicis ab-
sentibus licet, et quidem quotiens velis, quamdiu
velis. Magis hac voluptate, quae maxima est, fruimur,
dum absumus. Praesentia enim nos delicatos facit,
et quia aliquando una loquimur, ambulamus, con-
sedimus, cum diducti sumus, nihil de is,! quos modo
vidimus, cogitamus. Et ideo aequo animo ferre de-
bemus absentiam, quia nemo non multum etiam
praesentibus abest. Pone hic primum noctes sepa-
ratas, deinde occupationes utrique diversas, deinde
studia secreta, suburbanas profectiones ; videbis non
multum esse, quod nobis peregrinatio eripiat. Amicus
animo possidendus est; hic autem numquam abest.
Quemcumque vult, cotidie videt.

Itaque mecum stude, mecum cena, mecum ambula.
In angusto vivebamus, si quicquam esset cogitationi-

bus clusum. Video te, mi Lucili; cum maxime
1 de is Hense; deis or de his MSS.
370

EPISTLE LV.

spend his leisure when it was already unfruitful and
decrepit.

The place where one lives, however, can contribute
little towards tranquillity ; it is the mind which must
make everything agreeable to itself. I have seen
men despondent in a gay and lovely villa, and I
have seen them to all appearance full of business in
the midst of a solitude. For this reason you should
not refuse to believe that your life is well-placed
merely because you are not now in Campania. But
why are you not there? Just let your thoughts
travel, even to this place. You may hold converse
with your friends when they are absent, and indeed
as often as you wish and for as long as you wish.
For we enjoy this, the greatest of pleasures, all the
more when we are absent from one another. For
the presence of friends makes us fastidious; and
because we can at any time talk or sit together,
when once we have parted we give not a thought to
those whom we have just beheld. And we ought
to bear the absence of friends cheerfully, just because
everyone is bound to be often absent from his friends
even when they are present. Include among such
cases, in the first place, the nights spent apart, then
the different engagements which each of two friends
has, then the private studies of each and their ex-
cursions into the country, and you will see that foreign
travel does not rob us of much. A friend should be
retained in the spirit; such a friend can never be
absent. He can see every day whomsoever he desires
to see.

I would therefore have you share your studies
with me, your meals, and your walks. We should
be living within too narrow limits if anything were
barred to our thoughts. I see you, my dear Lucilius,

371

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

audio. Adeo tecum sum, ut dubitem, an incipiam
non epistulas, sed codicellos tibi scribere. VALE.

EV
Seneca LyciILtio svo SALVTEM

1 Peream, si est tam necessarium quam videtur si-
Jentium in studia seposito. Ecce undique me varius
clamor circumsonat. Supra ipsum balneum habito.
Propone nunc tibi omnia genera vocum, quae in
odium possunt aures adducere: cum fortiores exer-
centur et manus plumbo graves iactant, cum aut
laborant aut laborantem imitantur, gemitus audio,
quotiens retentum spiritum remiserunt, sibilos et
acerbissimas respirationes; cum in aliquem inertem
et hac plebeia unctione contentum incidi, audio
crepitum inlisae manus umeris, quae prout plana per-
venit aut concava, ita sonum mutat. Si vero pili-
crepus supervenit et numerare coepit pilas, actum est.

2 Adice nunc scordalum et furem deprensum et illum,
cui vox sua in balineo placet. Adice nunc eos, qui
in piscinam cum ingenti inpulsae aquae sono saliunt.
Praeter istos, quorum, si nihil aliud, rectae voces
sunt, alipilum cogita tenuem et stridulam vocem,
quo sit notabilior, subinde exprimentem nec umquam

@ Pilicrepus probably means ‘‘ball-counter,”—one who
keeps a record of the strokes. Compare our ‘billiard-
marker.”

> This was especially true of poets, cf. Horace, Sat. i. 4.
76 suave locus voci resonat conclusus, and Martial, iii. 44.

372

EPISTLES LV., LVI.

and at this very moment I hear you; I am with you
to such an extent that I hesitate whether I should
not begin to write you notes instead of letters.
Farewell.

EV ON-OUIET AND srUuDpy

Beshrew me if I think anything more requisite
than silence for a man who secludes himself in order
to study! Imagine what a variety of noises rever-
berates about my ears! I have lodgings right over
a bathing establishment. So picture to yourself
the assortment of sounds, which are strong enough
to make me hate my very powers of hearing! When
your strenuous gentleman, for example, is exercising
himself by flourishing leaden weights; when he is
working hard, or else pretends to be working hard,
I can hear him grunt; and whenever he releases
his imprisoned breath, I can hear him panting in
wheezy and high-pitched tones. Or perhaps I
notice some lazy fellow, content with a cheap rub-
down, and hear the crack of the pummeling hand on
his shoulder, varying in sound according as the hand
is laid on flat or hollow. Then, perhaps, a pro-
fessional * comes along, shouting out the score; that
is the finishing touch. Add to this the arresting of
an occasional roysterer or pickpocket, the racket of
the man who always likes to hear his own voice in
the bathroom,? or the enthusiast who plunges into
the swimming-tank with unconscionable noise and
splashing. Besides all those whose voices, if nothing
else, are good, imagine the hair-plucker with his
penetrating, shrill voice,—for purposes of advertise-
ment,—continually giving it vent and never holding

373

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

tacentem, nisi dum vellit alas et alium pro se clamare
cogit. Jam libari’ varias exclamationes et botularium
et crustularium et omnes popinarum institores mercem
sua quadam et insignita modulatione vendentis.

3 “O te,” inquis, “ferreum aut surdum, cui mens
inter tot clamores tam varios, tam dissonos constat,
cum Chrysippum nostrum adsidua salutatio perducat
ad mortem.” At mehercules ego istum fremitum
non magis curo quam fluctum aut deiectum aquae,
quamvis audiam cuidam genti hance unam fuisse
causam urbem suam transferendi, quod fragorem Nili

4 cadentis ferre non potuit. Magis mihi videtur vox
avocare quam crepitus. Illa enim animum adducit,
hic tantum aures implet ac verberat. In his, quae
me sine avocatione circumstrepunt, essedas trans-
currentes pono et fabrum inquilinum et serrarium
vicinum, aut hunc, qui ad Metam Sudantem tubulas ?
experitur et tibias, nec cantat, sed exclamat.

§ | Etiamnunc molestior est mihi sonus, qui inter-
mittitur subinde quam qui continuatur. Sed iam me
sic ad omnia ista duravi, ut audire vel pausarium
possim voce acerbissima remigibus modos dantem.
Animum enim cogo sibi intentum esse nec avocari ad

1 Libari Caelius Rhodiginus; biberari pLVM; liberarii Pb.
2 tubulas Gruter ; tabulas pLV ; Summers conj. tubulos.

# Itis nowhere else related of the famous Stoic philosopher
Chrysippus that he objected to the salutations of his friends;
and, besides, the morning salutation was a Roman, not a
Greek, custom. Lipsius, therefore, was probably right
when he proposed to read here, for Chrysippus, Crispus, one
of Seneca’s friends ; cf. Epigr. 6.

> The same story is told in Naturales Quaestiones, iv. 2. 5.

374

EPISTLE LVI.

his tongue except when he is plucking the armpits
and making his victim yell instead. Then the cake-
seller with his varied cries, the sausageman, the con-
fectioner, and all the vendors of food hawking their
wares, each with his own distinctive intonation.

So you say: “ What iron nerves or deadened ears
you must have, if your mind can hold out amid so
many noises, so various and so discordant, when our
friend Chrysippus® is brought to his death by the
continual good-morrows that greet him!” But I
assure you that this racket means no more to me
than the sound of waves or falling water; although
you will remind me that a certain tribe once moved
their city merely because they could not endure the
din of a Nile cataract.2 Words seem to distract me
more than noises; for words demand attention, but
noises merely fill the ears and beat upon them. Among
the sounds that din round me without distracting, I
include passing carriages, a machinist in the same
block, a saw-sharpener near by, or some fellow who
is demonstrating with little pipes and flutes at the
Trickling Fountain,’ shouting rather than singing.

Furthermore, an intermittent noise upsets me
more than a steady one. But by this time I have
toughened my nerves against all that sort of thing,
so that I can endure even a boatswain marking the
time in high-pitched tones for his crew. For I force
my mind to concentrate, and keep it from straying to

¢ A cone-shaped fountain, resembling a turning-post
(meta) in the circus, from which the water spouted through
many jets; hence the term ‘‘sweating” (sudans). Its remains
may still be seen now not far from the Colosseum on the Velia.

VOL. I N2 375

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

externa; omnia licet foris resonent, dum intus nihil
tumultus sit, dum inter se non rixentur cupiditas et
timor, dum avaritia luxuriaque non dissideant nec
altera alteram vexet. Nam quid prodest totius
regionis silentium, si adfectus fremunt?

6 Omnia noctis erant placida composta quiete.

Falsum est. Nulla placida est quies, nisi qua! ratio
conposuit. Nox exhibet molestiam, non tollit, et
sollicitudines mutat. Nam dormientium quoque in-
somnia tam turbulenta sunt quam dies. Illa tran-
quillitas vera est, in quam bona mens explicatur.
7 Aspice illum, cui somnus laxae domus silentio quae-
ritur, cuius aures ne quis agitet sonus, omnis servorum
turba conticuit et suspensum accedentium propius
vestigium ponitur; huc nempe versatur atque illuc?
8 somnum inter aegritudines levem captans. Quae
non audit, audisse se queritur. Quid in causa putas
esse? Animus illi obstrepit. Hic placandus est,
huius conpescenda seditio est, quem non est quod
existimes placidum, si iacet corpus. Interdum quies
inquieta est.
Et ideo ad rerum actus excitandi ac tractatione
bonarum artium occupandi sumus, quotiens nos male
9 habet inertia sui inpatiens. Magni imperatores, cum
male parere militem vident, aliquo labore conpescunt

1 gua Gemoll ; guam MSS.

* A fragment from the Argonautica of Varro Atacinus,

376

EPISTLE LVI.

things outside itself; all outdoors may be bedlam,
provided that there is no disturbance within, pro-
vided that fear is not wrangling with desire in my
breast, provided that meanness and lavishness are
not at odds, one harassing the other. For of what
benefit is a quiet neighbourhood, if our emotions are
in an uproar?

"Twas night, and all the world was lulled to rest.

This is not true; for no real rest can be found when
reason has not done the lulling. Night brings our
troubles to the light, rather than banishes them; it
merely changes the form of our worries. For even
when we seek slumber, our sleepless moments are as
harassing as the daytime. Real tranquillity is the
state reached by an unperverted mind when it is
relaxed. Think of the unfortunate man who courts
sleep by surrendering his spacious mansion to silence,
who, that his ear may be disturbed by no sound, bids
the whole retinue of his slaves be quiet and that
whoever approaches him shall walk on tiptoe; he
tosses from this side to that and seeks a fitful slumber
amid his frettings! He complains that he has
_ heard sounds, when he has not heard them at all.
The reason, you ask? His soul is in an uproar;
it must be soothed, and its rebellious murmuring
checked. You need not suppose that the soul is
at peace when the body is still. Sometimes quiet
means disquiet.

We must therefore rouse ourselves to action and
busy ourselves with interests that are good, as often
as we are in the grasp of an uncontrollable sluggish-
ness. Great generals, when they see that their men
are mutinous, check them by some sort of labour

377

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

et expeditionibus detinent ; numquam vacat lascivire
districtis nihilque tam certum est quam otii vitia
negotio discuti. Saepe videmur taedio rerum civilium
et infelicis atque ingratae stationis paenitentia seces-
sisse, tamen in illa latebra, in quam nos timor ac
lassitudo coniecit, interdum recrudescit ambitio. Non
enim excisa desit, sed fatigata aut etiam obirata

10 rebus parum sibi cedentibus. Idem de luxuria dico,
quae videtur aliquando cessisse, deinde frugalitatem
professos sollicitat atque in media parsimonia volup-
tates non damnatas, sed relictas petit, et quidem eo
vehementius, quo occultius. Omnia enim vitia in
aperto leniora sunt; morbi quoque tunc ad sanitatem
inclinant, cum ex abdito erumpunt ac vim suam pro-
ferunt. Et avaritiam itaque et ambitionem et cetera
mala mentis humanae tunc perniciosissima scias esse,
cum simulata sanitate subsidunt.

11. Otiosi videmur, et non sumus. Nam si bona fide
sumus, si receptui cecinimus, si speciosa contemni-
mus, ut paulo ante dicebam, nulla res nos avocabit,
nullus hominum aviumque concentus interrumpet

12 cogitationes bonas, solidasque iam et certas. Leve
illud ingenium est nec sese adhuc reduxit introrsus,
quod ad vocem et accidentia erigitur. Habet
intus aliquid sollicitudinis et habet aliquid concepti

# See Introduction, page viii. > § 4 of this letter.
¢ An allusion to the Sirens and Ulysses, cf. § 15 below.

378

EPISTLE LVI.

or keep them busy with small forays. The much
occupied man has no time for wantonness, and it
is an obvious commonplace that the evils of leisure
can be shaken off by hard work. Although people
may often have thought that I sought seclusion
because I was disgusted with politics and regretted
my hapless and thankless position,? yet, in the retreat
to which apprehension and weariness have driven
me, my ambition sometimes develops afresh. For it
is not because my ambition was rooted out that it
has abated, but because it was wearied or perhaps
even put out of temper by the failure of its plans.
And so with luxury, also, which sometimes seems to
have departed, and then when we have made a
profession of frugality, begins to fret us and, amid
our economies, seeks the pleasures which we have
merely left but not condemned. Indeed, the more
stealthily it comes, the greater is its force. For
all unconcealed vices are less serious; a disease
also is farther on the road to being cured when it
breaks forth from concealment and manifests its
power. So with greed, ambition, and the other
evils of the mind,—you may be sure that they do
“most harm when they are hidden behind a pretence
of soundness.

Men think that we are in retirement, and yet we
are not. For if we have sincerely retired, and have
sounded the signal for retreat, and have scorned
outward attractions, then, as I remarked above,? no
outward thing will distract us; no music of men or
of birds* can interrupt good thoughts, when they
have once become steadfast and sure. The mind
which starts at words or at chance sounds is unstable
and has not yet withdrawn into itself; it contains
within itself an element of anxiety and rooted fear,

379

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

pavoris, quod illum curiosum facit, ut ait Vergilius
noster :

Et me, quem dudum non ulla iniecta movebant
Tela neque adverso glomerati ex agmine Grai,
Nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnis
Suspensum et pariter comitique onerique timentem.

13 Prior ille sapiens est, quem non tela vibrantia, non
arietata inter se! arma agminis densi, non urbis in-
pulsae fragor territat. Hic alter inperitus est, rebus
suis timet ad omnem crepitum expavescens, quem
una quaelibet vox pro fremitu accepta deicit, quem
motus levissimi exanimant; timidum illum sarcinae

14 faciunt. Quemcumque ex istis felicibus elegeris,
multa trahentibus, multa portantibus, videbis illum
“ comitique onerique timentem.”

Tune ergo te scito esse conpositum, cum ad te
nullus clamor pertinebit, cum te nulla vox tibi ex-
cutiet, non si blandietur, non si minabitur, non si

15 inani sono vana circumstrepet. “Quid ergo? Non
aliquando commodius est et carere convicio?”
Fateor. Itaque ego ex hoc loco migrabo. Experiri
et exercere me volui. Quid necesse est diutius
torqueri, cum tam facile remedium Vlixes sociis
etiam adversus Sirenas invenerit? VALE.

1 inter se Erasmus ; inter pLPb; inter ™ V.

« Aeneas is escaping from burning Troy, Aeneid, ii. 726 ff.

’ Aeneas carries Anchises; the rich man carries his
burden of wealth.

¢ Not merely by stopping their ears with wax, but also by
bidding them row past the Sirens as quickly as possible.
Odyssey, xii. 182.

380

EPISTLE LVI.

and this makes one a prey to care, as our Vergil
says:

I, whom of yore no dart could cause to flee,

Nor Greeks, with crowded lines of infantry,

Now shake at every sound, and fear the air,
Both for my child and for the load I bear.

This man in his first state is wise ; he blenches neither
at the brandished spear, nor at the clashing armour
of the serried foe, nor at the din of the stricken
city. This man in his second state lacks knowledge
fearing for his own concerns, he pales at every sound;
any cry is taken for the battle-shout and overthrows
him; the slightest disturbance renders him breath-
less with fear. It is the load that makes him afraid.?
Select anyone you please from among your favourites
of Fortune, trailing their many responsibilities, carry-
ing their many burdens, and you will behold a picture
of Vergil’s hero, “fearing both for his child and for
the load he bears.”

You may therefore be sure that you are at peace
with yourself, when no noise reaches you, when no
word shakes you out of yourself, whether it be
of flattery or of threat, or merely an empty sound
buzzing about you with unmeaning din. ‘ What
then?” you say, “is it not sometimes a simpler
matter just to avoid the uproar?” I admit this.
Accordingly, I shall change from my present quarters.
I merely wished to test myself and to give myself
practice. Why need I be tormented any longer, when
Ulysses found so simple a cure for his comrades,°
even against the songs of the Sirens? Farewell.

38]

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

LVIL.
Seneca LvciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Cuma Bais deberem Neapolim repetere, facile cre-
didi tempestatem esse, ne iterum navem experirer ;
et tantum luti tota via fuit, ut possim videri nihilo-
minus navigasse. Totum athletarum fatum mihi illo
die perpetiendum fuit ; a ceromate nos haphe excepit

2in crypta Neapolitana. Nihil illo carcere longius,
nihil illis facibus obscurius, quae nobis praestant
non ut per tenebras videamus, sed ut ipsas. Ceterum
etiam si locus haberet lucem, pulvis auferret, in
aperto quoque res gravis et molesta; quid illic, ubi
in se volutatur et, cum sine ullo spiramento sit
inclusus, in ipsos, a quibus excitatus est, recidit?
Duo incommoda inter se contraria simul pertulimus :
eadem via, eodem die et luto et pulvere laboravimus.

3 Aliquid tamen mihi illa obscuritas, quod cogitarem,
dedit; sensi quendam ictum animi et sine metu
mutationem, quam insolitae rei novitas simul ac
foeditas fecerat. Non de me nunc tecum loquor,
qui multum ab homine tolerabili, nedum a perfecto
absum, sed de illo, in quem fortuna ius perdidit.
Hluius quoque ferietur animus, mutabitur color.

@ 7.¢., an *‘ anointing” with mud.

> A characteristic figure. After anointing, the wrestler
was sprinkled with sand, so that the opponent’s hand might
not slip. The Naples tunnel furnished a short cut to those
who, like Seneca in this letter, did not wish to take the
time to travel by the shore route along the promontory of
Pausilipum,

382

EPISTLE LVII.

LVII. ON THE TRIALS OF TRAVEL

When it was time for me to return to Naples
from Baiae, I easily persuaded myself that a storm
was raging, that I might avoid anotber trip by sea;
and yet the road was so deep in miud, all the way,
that I may be thought none the less to have made a
voyage. On that day I had to endure the full fate
of an athlete; the anointing? with which we began
was followed by the sand-sprinkle in the Naples
tunnel.? No place could be longer than that prison ;
nothing could be dimmer than those torches, which
enabled us, not to see amid the darkness, but to see
the darkness. But, even supposing that there was
light in the place, the dust, which is an oppressive
and disagreeable thing even in the open air, would
destroy the light; how much worse the dust is
there, where it rolls back upon itself, and, being
shut in without ventilation, blows back in the faces
of those who set it going! So we endured two
inconveniences at the same time, and they were
diametrically different: we struggled both with
mud and with dust on the same road and on the
same day.

The gloom, however, furnished me with some food
for thought; I felt a certain mental thrill, and a trans-
formation unaccompanied by fear, due to the novelty
and the unpleasantness of an unusual occurrence. Of
course I am not speaking to you of myself at this
point, because I am far from being a perfect person,
or even a man of middling qualities; I refer to one
over whom fortune has lost her control. Even such
a man’s mind will be smitten with a thrill and

383

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

4 Quaedam enim, mi Lucili, nulla effugere virtus

potest; admonet illam natura mortalitatis suae.
Itaque et vultum adducet ad tristia! et inhorrescet
ad subita et caligabit, si vastam altitudinem in
crepidine eius constitutus despexerit ; non est hoc
timor, sed naturalis adfectio inexpugnabilis rationi.

5 Itaque fortes quidam et paratissimi fundere suum

6

~J

sanguinem alienum videre non possunt. Quidam
ad vulneris novi, quidam ad veteris et purulenti
tractationem inspectionemque succidunt ac linquun-
tur animo. Alii gladium facilius recipiunt quam
vident.

Sensi ergo, ut dicebam, quandam non quidem
perturbationem, sed mutationem. Rursus ad primum
conspectum redditae lucis alacritas rediit incogitata
et iniussa. Illud deinde mecum loqui coepi, quam
inepte quaedam magis aut minus timeremus, cum
omnium idem finis esset. Quid enim interest, utrum
supra aliquem vigilarium ruat an mons? Nihil in-
venies. Erunt tamen, qui hanc ruinam magis timeant,
quamvis utraque mortifera aeque sit; adeo non
effectus, sed efficientia timor spectat. Nunc me
putas de Stoicis dicere, qui existimant animam
hominis magno pondere extriti permaneré non posse
et statim spargi, quia non fuerit illi exitus liber?
Ego vero non facio; qui hoc dicunt, videntur mihi
errare. Quemadmodum flamma non potest obprimi,

1 ad tristia Gruter ; ad (a) tristitiam, or ad tristiam MSS.

# Of. Hicks, Stoic and Epicurean, p. 61, on the doctrine
of interpenetration, explaining the diffusion of soul through-
out the body; and Rohde, Psyche, ii. 319, on the popular
superstition that one who dies in a whirlwind has his soul
snatched away by the wind-spirits. The doctrine referred
to by Seneca is not, aowever, a purely Stoic doctrine.

384

EPISTLE LVII.

he will change colour. For there are certain emotions,
my dear Lucilius, which no courage can avoid; nature
reminds courage how perishable a thing it is. And
so he will contract his brow when the prospect is
forbidding, will shudder at sudden apparitions, and
will become dizzy when he stands at the edge of
a high precipice and looks down. This is not fear;
it is a natural feeling which reason cannot rout. That
is why certain brave men, most willing to shed their
own blood, cannot bear to see the blood of others.
Some persons collapse and faint at the sight of a
freshly inflicted wound ; others are affected similarly
on handling or viewing an old wound which is
festering. And others meet the sword-stroke more
readily than they see it dealt.

Accordingly, as I said, I experienced a certain
transformation, though it could not be called con-
fusion. Then at the first glimpse of restored daylight
my good spirits returned without forethought or
command. And I began to muse and think how
foolish we are to fear certain objects to a greater or
less degree, since all of them end in the same way.
For what difference does it make whether a watch-
tower or a mountain crashes down upon us? No
difference at all, you will find. Nevertheless, there
will be some men who fear the latter mishap to a
greater degree, though both accidents are equally
deadly ; so true it is that fear looks not to the effect,
but to the cause of the effect. Do you suppose that
I am now referring to the Stoics,* who hold that the
soul of aman crushed by a great weight cannot abide,
and is scattered forthwith, because it has not had a
free opportunity to depart? That is not what I am
doing; those who think thus are, in my opinion,
wrong. Just as fire cannot be crushed out, since it

385

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

nam circa id effugit, quo urgetur ; quemadmodum aer
verbere atque ictu non laeditur, ne scinditur quidem,
sed circa id, cui cessit, refunditur ; sic animus, qui ex
tenuissimo constat, deprehendi non potest nec intra
corpus effligi, sed beneficio subtilitatis suae per ipsa,
quibus premitur, erumpit. Quomodo fulmini, etiam
cum latissime percussit ac fulsit, per exiguum fora-
men est reditus, sic animo, qui adhuc tenuior est
igne, per omne corpus fuga est. Itaque de illo
quaerendum est, an possit immortalis esse. Hoc
quidem certum habe: si superstes est corpori,
praeteri? illum nullo genere posse, propter quod non
perit, quoniam nulla immortalitas cum exceptione est
nec quicquam noxium aeterno est. Vater.

EViTk
Seneca LycILIo svO SALVTEM

Quanta verborum nobis paupertas, immo egestas sit,
numquam magis quam hodierno die intellexi. Mille
res inciderunt, cum forte de Platone loqueremur, quae
nomina desiderarent nec haberent, quaedam vero,
quae 2 cum habuissent, fastidio nostro perdidissent.
Quis autem ferat in egestate fastidium? Hune quem

1 praeteri Buecheler ; preter p; propter VLPb; proteri
Haupt.
2 quae added by Hense, after Koch and G. Gemoll.

@ For this belief compare Xenophon, Mem. iv. 3. 14,
‘* No one sees the bolt either on its way down or on its way
back.” Seneca himself was much interested in lightning,
efi, Ni, Q., 1.40: 2.

> This theme was emphasized by Lucretius, i. 136 and
832, and iii. 260. Munro thinks, however, that ‘* Lucretius
had too much instead of too little technical language for a
poet.” Seneca knew Lucretius; cf. Epp. lviii. 12, xc. 11, ete.

386

EPISTLES LVII., LVIII.

will escape round the edges of the body which over-
whelms it; just as the air cannot be damaged by
lashes and blows, or even cut into, but flows back
about the object to which it gives place; similarly
the soul, which consists of the subtlest particles,
cannot be arrested or destroyed inside the body, but,
by virtue of its delicate substance, it will rather
escape through the very object by which it is being
crushed. Just as lightning, no matter how widely it
strikes and flashes, makes its return through a narrow
opening,” so the soul, which is still subtler than fire,
has a way of escape through any part of the body.
We therefore come to this question,—whether the
soul can be immortal. But be sure of this: if the
soul survives the body after the body is crushed, the
soul can in no wise be crushed out, precisely because
it does not perish; for the rule of immortality never
admits of exceptions, and nothing can harm that
which is everlasting. Farewell.

LVIII. ON BEING

How scant of words our Janguage is, nay, how
poverty-stricken, I have not fully understood until
to-day. We happened to be speaking of Plato, and
a thousand subjects came up for discussion, which
needed names and yet possessed none; and there
were certain others which once possessed, but have
since lost, their words because we were too nice
about their use. But who can endure to be nice
in the midst of poverty?® There is an insect, called

387

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Graeci oestron vocant pecora peragentem et totis
saltibus dissipantem, asilum nostri vocabant. Hoc
Vergilio licet credas :

Est lucum Silari iuxta ! ilicibusque virentem
Plurimus Alburnum volitans, cui nomen asilo
Romanum est, oestrum Grai vertere vocantes,
Asper, acerba sonans, quo tota exterrita silvis
Diffugiunt armenta.

3 Puto intellegi istud verbum interisse. Ne te longe
differam, quaedam simplicia in usu erant, sicut
“cernere ferro inter se”’ dicebant.2. Idem Vergilius
hoe probabit tibi:

Ingentis genitos diversis partibus orbis
Inter se coiisse viros et cernere ferro.

Quod nunc decernere dicimus. Simplicis illius verbi

4usus amissus est. Dicebant antiqui “si iusso,”
id est iussero. Hoe nolo mihi credas, sed eidem $
Vergilio :

Cetera, qua iusso, mecum manus inferat arma.

5 Non id ago nunc hac diligentia, ut ostendam, quantum
tempus apud grammaticum perdiderim, sed ut ex
hoe intellegas, quantum apud Ennium et Accium
verborum situs occupaverit, cum apud hune quoque,
qui cotidie excutitur, aliqua nobis subducta sint.

6 “Quid sibi,” inquis, “ista praeparatio vult? Quo
spectat?” Non celabo te; cupio, si fieri potest,

1 for lucum and iuxta Vergil MSS. give lucos and circa.
2 dicebant Mentel ; dicebantur MSS.
8 eidem Haase ; fidem MSS.

@ The gad-fly. > Georgics, iii. 146 ff.
© Aeneid, xii. 708 f. 6 Aeneid, xi. 467.
388

EPISTLE LVIII.

by the Greeks oestrus, which drives cattle wild and
scatters them all over their pasturing grounds; it
used to be called aszlus in our language, as you may
believe on the authority of Vergil :—

Near Silarus’ groves, and eke Alburnus’ shades
Of green-clad oak-trees flits an insect, named
Asilus by the Romans ; in the Greek

The word is rendered oestrus. With a rough
And strident sound it buzzes and drives wild
The terror-stricken herds throughout the woods.°

By which I infer that the word has gone out of use.
And, not to keep you waiting too long, there were
certain uncompounded words current, like cernere
ferro inter se, as will be proved again by Vergil :—

Great heroes, born in various lands, had come
To settle matters mutually with the sword.°

This “ settling matters’? we now express by decernere.
The plain word has become obsolete. The ancients
used to say iusso, instead of iussero, in conditional
clauses. You need not take my word, but you may
turn again to Vergil :—

The other soldiers shall conduct the fight

With me, where I shall bid.¢

It is not my purpose to show, by this array of
examples, how much time I have wasted on the
study of language; I merely wish you to understand
how many words, that were current in the works of
Ennius and Accius, have become mouldy with age;
while even in the case of Vergil, whose works are
explored daily, some of his words have been filched

away from us.
You will say, I suppose: “ What is the purpose
and meaning of this preamble?” I shall not keep
389

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

propitiis auribus tuis ‘ essentiam’’! dicere ; si minus,
dicam et iratis. Ciceronem auctorem huius verbi
habeo, puto locupletem. Si recentiorem quaeris,
Fabianum, disertum et elegantem, orationis etiam ad
nostrum fastidium nitidae. Quid enim fiet, mi
Lucili? Quomodo dicetur ovcia res _necessaria,
natura continens fundamentum omnium? Rogo
itaque permittas mihi hoe verbo uti. Nihilominus
dabo operam, ut ius a te datum parcissime exerceam ;

7 fortasse contentus ero mihi licere. Quid proderit
facilitas tua, cum ecce id nullo modo Latine exprimere
possim, propter quod linguae nostrae convicium feci ?
Magis damnabis angustias Romanas, si scieris unam
syllabam esse, quam mutare non possum. Quae sit
haec, quaeris? ‘To ov. Duri tibi videor ingenii; in
medio positum,? posse sic transferri, ut dicam “ quod
est." Sed multum interesse video; cogor verbum

8 pro vocabulo ponere. Sed si ita necesse est, ponam
“quod est.”” Sex modis hoc a Platone dici amicus
noster, homo eruditissimus, hodierno die dicebat.
Omnes tibi exponam, si ante indicavero esse aliquid
genus, esse et speciem.

1 essentiam Muretus ; quid sentiam MSS.
2 wositum Muretus ; positam MSS.

@ Cicero usually says natura. The word, according to
Quintilian, was first used by a certain Sergius Flavus. It is
also found in Apuleius, Macrobius, and Sidonius.

> See ’p. cc. Papirius Fabianus, who lived in the times
of Tiberius and Caligula, was a pupil of the Sextius of Ep.
lix., and was (Pliny, WV. H. xxxvi. 15. 24) naturae rerum
eg eek He is praised by the elder Seneca (Cont. 2.

raef.) who, however, says of him deerat robur—splendor
aderat.

¢ z.e., | must use other imported words to explain essentia,
which is not a native Latin word, but invented as a literal
translation of ovcta.

4 of. § 16.

390

EPISTLE LVIII.

you in the dark ; I desire, if possible, to say the word
essentia to you and obtain a favourable hearing. If I
cannot do this, I shall risk it even though it put
you out of humour. I have Cicero? as authority for
the use of this word, and I regard him as a powerful
authority. If you desire testimony of a later date,
I shall cite Fabianus,’ careful of speech, cultivated,
and so polished in style that he will suit even our
nice tastes. For what can we do, my dear Lucilius?
How otherwise can we find a word for that which the
Greeks call ovcia, something that is indispensable,
something that is the natural substratum of every-
thing? I beg you accordingly to allow me to use
this word essentza. [I shall nevertheless take pains to
exercise the privilege, which you have granted me,
with as sparing a hand as possible ; perhaps I shall be
content with the mere right. Yet what good will
your indulgence do me, =e lo and behold, I can in no
wise express in Latin’ the meaning of the word
which gave me the opportunity to rail at the poverty
of our language? And you will condemn our narrow
Roman limits even more, when you find out that there
is a word of one syllable which I cannot translate.
“What is this?” you ask. It is the word ov. You
think me lacking in facility; you believe that the
word is ready to hand, that it might be translated by
quod est. I notice, however, a great difference ; you
are forcing me to render a noun by a verb. But if I
must do so, I shall render it by quod est. There are
six ways @ in which Plato expresses this idea, accord-
ing to a friend of ours, a man of great learning,
whe mentioned the fact to-day. And I shall ex-
plain all of them to you, if I may first point out
that there is something called genus and something
called species.

391

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Nunc autem primum illud genus quaerimus, ex
quo ceterae species suspensae sunt, a quo nascitur
omnis divisio, quo universa conprensa sunt. Invenie-
tur autem, si coeperimus singula retro legere; sic

9 enim perducemur ad primum. Homo species est,
ut Aristoteles ait; equus species est; canis species
est; ergo commune aliquod quaerendum est his
omnibus vinculum, quod illa conplectatur et sub se
habeat. Hoc quid est? Animal. Ergo genus esse
coepit horum omnium, quae modo rettuli, hominis,

10 equi, canis, animal. Sed quaedam! animam habent
nec sunt animalia. Placet enim satis et arbustis
animam inesse. Itaque et vivere illa et mori dicimus.
Ergo animantia superiorem tenebunt locum, quia et
animalia in hac forma sunt et sata. Sed quaedam anima
carent, ut saxa. Itaque erit aliquid animantibus?
antiquius, corpus scilicet. Hoc sie dividam, ut dicam
corpora omnia aut animantia esse aut inanima.

11 Etiamnunc est aliquid superius quam corpus. Dicimus
enim quaedam corporalia esse, quaedam incorporalia.
Quid ergo erit, ex quo haec deducantur? IIlud, cui
nomen modo parum proprium inposuimus, “ quod est.”
Sic enim in species secabitur, ut dicamus: “ quod
est’ aut corporale est aut incorporale.

12. Hoe ergo est genus primum et antiquissimum et,
ut ita dicam, generale. Cetera genera quidem sunt,

1 guaedam later MSS. ; quaedam quae pLV Pb.
2 Hense conjectures e¢ animantibus.

* Categories 2 b 11 and often.
392

EPISTLE LVIII.

For the present, however, we are seeking the
primary idea of genus, on which the others, the different
species, depend, which is the source of all classification,
the term under which universal ideas are embraced.
And the idea of genus will be reached if we begin to
reckon back from particulars; for in this way we
shall be conducted back to the primary notion. Now
“man” is a species, as Aristotle * says; so is “ horse,”
or “dog.” We must therefore discover some common
bond for all these terms, one which embraces them
and holds them subordinate to itself. And what is

this? It is “animal.” And so there begins to be a
genus “animal,” including all these terms, “ man,”
“horse,” and “dog.” But there are certain things

which have life (anima) and yet are not “animals.”
For it is agreed that plants and trees possess life, and
that is why we speak of them as living and dying.
Therefore the term “living things” will occupy a
still higher place, because both animals and plants
are included in this category. Certain objects, how-
ever, lack life,—such as rocks. There will therefore
be another term to take precedence over “living
things,” and that is “substance.” I shall classify
“ substance ” by saying that all substances are either
animate or inanimate. But there is still something
superior to “substance”; for we speak of certain
things as possessing substance, and certain things as
lacking substance. What, then, will be the term
from which these things are derived? It is that to
which we lately gave an inappropriate name, “ that
which exists.” For by using this term they will be
divided into species, so that we can say: that which

exists either possesses, or lacks, substance.
This, therefore, is what genus is,— the primary,
original, and (to play upon the word) “general.”
393

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sed specialia. Tamquam homo genus est. Habet
enim in se nationum species: Graecos, Romanos,
Parthos. Colorum: albos, nigros, flavos. Habet
singulos: Catonem, Ciceronem, Lucretium. Ita qua
multa continet, in genus cadit; qua sub alio est, in
speciem. Illud genus “quod est” generale, supra
se nihil habet; initium rerum est; omnia sub illo
sunt.

13. Stoici volunt superponere huic etiamnune aliud
genus magis principale ; de quo statim dicam, si prius
illud genus, de quo locutus sum, merito primum poni

14 docuero, cum sit rerum omnium capax. ‘“ Quod est”
in has species divido, ut sint corporalia aut incorporalia.
Nihil tertium est. Corpus quomodo divido? Ut
dicam: aut animantia sunt aut inanima. Rursus ani-
mantia quemadmodum divido? Ut dicam: quaedam
animum habent, quaedam tantum animam. Aut sic:
quaedam inpetum habent, incedunt, transeunt, quae-
dam solo adfixa radicibus aluntur, crescunt.!_ Rursus
animalia in quas species seco? Aut mortalia sunt aut

15 inmortalia. Primum genus Stoicis quibusdam videtur
“quid.” Quare videatur, subiciam: “ In rerum,” in-
quiunt, “natura quaedam sunt, quaedam non sunt.

Et haec autem, quae non sunt, rerum natura con-

1 Buecheler would add decrescunt, Hense arescunt
(awither.”).

* 7.6., the genus beyond ‘‘ that which exists.”
394

EPISTLE LVIII.

Of course there are the other genera: but they are
“ special” genera: “man” being, for example, a genus.
For “man” comprises species: by nations,—Greek,
Roman, Parthian; by colours,—white, black, yellow.
The term comprises individuals also: Cato, Cicero,
Lucretius. So “man” falls into the category genus,
in so far as it includes many kinds; but in so far as
it is subordinate to another term, it falls into the
category species. But the genus “that which exists”
is general, and has no term superior to it. It is the
first term in the classification of things, and all things
are included under it.

The Stoics would set ahead of this still another
genus, even more primary ; concerning which I shall
immediately speak, after proving that the genus which
has been discussed above, has rightly been placed
first, being, as it is, capable of including everything.
I therefore distribute “that which exists” into these
two species,—things with, and things without,
substance. There is no third class. And how do I
distribute “substance”? By saying that it is either
animate or inanimate. And how do J distribute the
“animate”? By saying: “ Certain things have mind,
while others have only life.” Or the idea may be
expressed as follows: “ Certain things have the power
of movement, of progress, of change of position, while
others are rooted in the ground; they are fed and
they grow only through their roots.” Again, into
what species do I divide “ animals’? They are either
perishable or imperishable. Certain of the Stoics
regard the primary genus% as the “something.” I
shall add the reasons they give for their belief;
they say: “in the order of nature some things exist,
and other things do not exist. And even the things
that do not exist are really part of the order of

395

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

plectitur, quae animo succurrunt, tamquam Centauni,
Gigantes et quicquid aliud falsa cogitatione formatum
habere aliquam imaginem coepit, quamvis non habeat
substantiam.”

16 Nunc ad id, quod tibi promisi, revertor, quomodo
quaecumque sunt, in sex modos Plato partiatur.
Primum illud “quod est’’ nec visu nec tactu nec
ullo sensu conprenditur; cogitabile est. Quod
generaliter est, tamquam homo generalis, sub oculos
non venit; sed specialis venit, ut Cicero et Cato.
Animal non videtur; cogitatur. Videtur autem
species €ius, equus et canis.

17. Secundum ex his, quae sunt, ponit Plato quod
eminet et exsuperat omnia. Hoc ait per excellentiam
esse. Poeta communiter dicitur, omnibus enim versus
facientibus hoc nomen est, sed iam apud Graecos in
unius notam cessit ; Homerum intellegas,cum audieris
poetam. Quid ergo hoc est? Deus scilicet, maior
ac potentior cunctis.

18 Tertium genus est eorum, quae proprie sunt;
innumerabilia haec sunt, sed extra nostrum posita
conspectum. Quaesint,interrogas. Propria Platonis
supellex est; ideas vocat, ex quibus omnia, quae-
cumque videmus, fiunt et ad quas cuncta formantur.

* Cf.§8. Plato’s usual division was threefold,—alc@yra,
uabnuatixd, el6n (sensibilia, mathematica, and ideae),—a
division which is often quoted by Aristotle.

> Elva: kar’ éfoxyv. After illustrating the poet kar’ eLox7r,
Homer, he passes to 70 dv xar’ éfoxnv, God.

¢”Ovtws Ta bvra. ** Each idea is a single, independent,
separate, self-existing, perfect, and eternal essence”;
Adam, The Republic of Plato, ii. 169. See Zeller’s Plato

(p. 237) for a list of Greek words used by Plato to indicate
the reality of these ideas.

396

EPISTLE LVIII.

uature. What these are will readily occur to the
mind, for example centaurs, giants, and all other
figments of unsound reasoning, which have begun
to have a definite shape, although they have no
bodily consistency.”

But I now return to the subject which I promised
to discuss for you, namely, how it is that Plato % divides
all existing things in six different ways. The first
class of ‘‘that which exists’’ cannot be grasped by
the sight or by the touch, or by any of the senses;
but it can be grasped by the thought. Any generic
conception, such as the generic idea “ man,” does not
come within the range of the eyes; but “man” in
particular does; as, for example, Cicero, Cato. The
term “animal”’ is not seen; it is grasped by thought
alone. A particular animal, however, is seen, for
example, a horse, a dog.

The second class of “things which exist,” accord-
ing to Plato, is that which is prominent and stands
out above everything else; this, he says, exists in a
pre-eminent degree.? The word “poet” is used in-
discriminately, for this term is applied to all writers
of verse; but among the Greeks it has come to be
the distinguishing mark of a single individual. You
know that Homer is meant when you hear men say
“the poet.’’ What, then, is this pre-eminent Being ?
God, surely, one who is greater and more powerful
than anyone else.

The third class is made up of those things which
exist in the proper sense of the term’; they are
countless in number, but are situated beyond our
sight. “What are these?” you ask. They are
Plato’s own furniture, so to speak; he calls them
“ideas,” and from them all visible things are created,
and according to their pattern al] things are fashioned.

397

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

19 Hae inmortales, inmutabiles, inviolabiles sunt. Quid
sit idea, id est, quid Platoni esse videatur, audi: “ Idea
est eorum, quae natura fiunt, exemplar aeternum.”
Adiciam definitioni interpretationem, quo tibi res
apertior fiat: volo imaginem tuam facere. Exemplar
picturae te habeo, ex quo capit aliquem habitum
mens nostra, quem operi suo inponat. Ita illa, quae
me docet et instruit facies, a qua petitur imitatio,
idea est. Talia ergo exemplaria infinita habet rerum
natura, hominum, piscium, arborum, ad quae quod-
cumque fieri ab illa debet, exprimitur.

99 Quartum locum habebit idos. Quid sit hoc idos,
attendas oportet et Platoni inputes, non mihi, hane
rerum difficultatem. Nulla est autem sine difficultate
subtilitas. Paulo ante pictoris imagine utebar. [lle
cum reddere Vergilium coloribus vellet, ipsum intue-
batur. Idea erat Vergilii facies, futuri operis exemplar.
Ex hac quod artifex trahit ! et operi suo inposuit, idos

91 est. Quid intersit, quaeris? Alterum exemplar est,
alterum forma ab exemplari sumpta et operi inposita.
Alteram artifex imitatur, alteram facit. Habet aliquam
faciem statua; haec est idos. Habet aliquam faciem
exemplar ipsum, quod intuens opifex statuam figu-

1 G. Gemoll prefers trazit.

@ Cf., for example, Parmenides 132 p. What follows is not
a direct quotation, and the same thought is found elsewhere.

> Eidos.

¢ 7.6., the “original.”

398

EPISTLE. EVIE

They are immortal, unchangeable, inviolable. And
this “idea,” or rather, Plato’s conception of it,* is as
follows: “The ‘idea’ is the everlasting pattern of
those things which are created by nature.” I shall
explain this definition, in order to set the subject
before you in a clearer light: Suppose that I wish to
make a likeness of you; I possess in your own person
the pattern of this picture, wherefrom my mind
receives a certain outline, which it is to embody in its
own handiwork. That outward appearance, then,
which gives me instruction and guidance, this pattern
for me to imitate, is the “idea.” Such patterns,
therefore, nature possesses in infinite number,—of
men, fish, trees, according to whose model everything
that nature has to create is worked out.

In the fourth place we shall put “form.”® And
if you would know what “form” means, you must
pay close attention, calling Plato, and not me, to
account for the difficulty of the subject. However,
we cannot make fine distinctions without encounter-
ing difficulties. A moment ago I made use of the
artist as an illustration. When the artist desired to
reproduce Vergil in colours be would gaze upon Vergil
himself. The “idea”’ was Vergil’s outward appear-
ance, and this was the pattern of the intended work.
That which the artist draws from this “idea” and
has embodied in his own work, is the “form.” Do
you ask me where the difference lies? The former is
the pattern ; while the latter is the shape taken from
the pattern and embodied in the work. Our artist
follows the one, but the other he creates. A statue has
acertain external appearance; thisexternal appearance
of the statue is the “form.’”” And the pattern © itself
has a certain external appearance, by gazing upon
which the sculptor has fashioned his statue; this

VOL. I o 399

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

ravit; haec idea est. Etiamnunc si aliam desideras
distinctionem, idos in opere est, idea extra opus
nec tantum extra opus est, sed ante opus.

22 Quintum genus est eorum, quae communiter sunt;
haec incipiunt ad nos pertinere; hic sunt omnia,
homines, pecora, res. Sextum genus eorum, quae
quasi sunt: tamquam inane, tamquam tempus.

Quaecumque videmus aut tangimus, Plato in illis
non numerat, quae esse proprie putat. Fluunt enim
et in assidua deminutione atque adiectione sunt.
Nemo nostrum idem est in senectute, qui fuit iuvenis;
nemo nostrum est idem mane, qui fuit pridie. Corpora
nostra rapiuntur fluminum more. Quicquid vides,
currit cum tempore. Nihil ex iis, quae videmus,
manet. Ego ipse, dum loquor mutari ista, mutatus

23 sum. Hoc est, quod ait Heraclitus: “ In idem flumen
bis descendimus et non descendimus.” Manet enim
idem fluminis nomen, aqua transmissa est. Hoc in
amne manifestius est quam in homine. Sed nos
quoque non minus velox cursus praetervehit, et ideo
admiror dementiam nostram, quod tantopere amamus
rem fugacissimam, corpus, timemusque, ne quando
moriamur, cum omne momentum mors prioris habitus
sit. Vis tu non timere, ne semel fiat, quod cotidie

24 fit! De homine dixi, fluvida materia et caduca et
omnibus obnoxia causis ; mundus quoque, aeterna res

* 4.6., kuplws bvyra. See above, p. 396.

> Frag. 497 Diels? rorapots rots avrots éuBatvouédv tre kal
ovK éuBaivouev, eluév Te Kal ovK eluev.

¢ This idea Seneca has already developed in /p. xxiv. 20.

400

EPISTLE LVIII.

is the “idea.” If you desire a further distinction, I
will say that the “form” is in the artist’s work, the
“idea’’ outside his work, and not only outside it,
but prior to it.

The fifth class is made up of the things which
exist in the usual sense of the term. These things
are the first that have to do with us; here we have
all such things as men, cattle, and things. In the
sixth class goes all that which has a fictitious existence,
like void, or time.

Whatever is concrete to the sight or touch, Plato
does not include among the things which he believes
to be existent in the strict sense of the term.” For
they are in a state of flux, constantly diminishing or
increasing. None of us is the same man in old age
that he was in youth; nor the same on the morrow
as on the day preceding. Our bodies are hurried
along like flowing waters; every visible object
accompanies time in its flight; of the things which
we see, nothing is fixed. Even I myself, as I comment
on this change, am changed myself. This is just
what Heraclitus ® says: “We go down twice into the
same river, and yet into a different river.” For the
stream still keeps the same name, but the water has
already flowed past. Of course this is much more
evident in rivers than in human beings. Still, we
mortals are also carried past in no less speedy a course ;
and this prompts me to marvel at our madness in cleav-
ing with great affection to such a fleeting thing as the
body, and in fearing lest some day we may die, when
every instant means the death of our previous con-
dition.° Will you not stop fearing lest that may
happen once which really happens every day? So
much for man,—a substance that flows away and
falls, exposed to every influence; but the universe,

401

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

et invicta, mutatur nec idem manet. Quamvis enim
omnia in se habeat, quae habuit, aliter habet quam
25 habuit ; ordinem mutat.
“ Quid ista,” inquis, “mihi subtilitas proderit?”
Si me interrogas, nihil. Sed quemadmodum ille
caelator oculos diu intentos ac fatigatos remittit
atque avocat et, ut dici solet, pascit; sic nos animum
aliquando debemus relaxare et quibusdam oblecta-
mentis reficere. Sed ipsa oblectamenta opera
sint. Ex his quoque, si observaveris, sumes, quod
26 possit fieri salutare. Hoc ego, Lucili, facere soleo:
ex omni notione,! etiam si a philosophia longissime
aversa est, eruere aliquid conor et utile efficere.
Quid istis, quae modo tractavimus, remotius? a
reformatione morum? Quomodo meliorem me
facere ideae Platonicae possunt? Quid ex istis
traham, quod cupiditates meas conprimat? Vel hoc
ipsum, quod omnia ista, quae sensibus serviunt, quae
nos accendunt et inritant, negat Plato ex his esse,
97 quae vere sint. Ergo ista imaginaria sunt et ad
tempus aliquam faciem ferunt, nihil horum stabile
nec solidum est; et nos tamen cupimus, tamquam
aut semper futura aut semper habituri.
Inbecilli fluvidique inter vana constitimus’; ad
1 notione (corr. from natione) P ; natione pLb; ratione V ;
oratione later MSS.
2 remotius Madvig ; remotis MSS.

3 inter vana constitimus Gertz; inter valla (or intervalla)
constituimus MSS.

402

EPISTLE LVIII.

too, immortal and enduring as it is, changes and
never remains the same. For though it has within
itself all that it has had, it has it in a different
way from that in which it has had it; it keeps
changing its arrangement.

“Very well,’ say you, “what good shall I get
from all this fine reasoning?” None, if you wish
me to answer your question. Nevertheless, just as
an engraver rests his eyes when they have long been
under a strain and are weary, and calls them from
their work, and “ feasts”’ them, as the saying is; so
we at times should slacken our minds and refresh
them with some sort of entertainment. But let
even your entertainment be work; and even from
these various forms of entertainment you _ will
select, if you have been watchful, something that
' may prove wholesome. That is my habit, Lucilius:
I try to extract and render useful some element from
every field of thought, no matter how far removed
it may be from philosophy. Now what could be
less likely to reform character than the subjects
which we have been discussing? And how can I
be made a better men by the “ideas” of Plato?
What can I draw from them that will put a check
on my appetites? Perhaps the very thought, that all
these things which minister to our senses, which arouse
and excite us, are by Plato denied a place among
the things that really exist. Such things are there-
fore imaginary, and though they for the moment
present a certain external appearance, yet they are
in no case permanent or substantial; none the less,
we crave them as if they were always to exist, or
as if we were always to possess them.

We are weak, watery beings standing in the midst
of unrealities ; therefore let us turn our minds to the

403

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

illa mittamus animum, quae aeterna sunt. Miremur

in sublimi volitantes rerum omnium formas deumque
inter illa versantem et hoc providentem, quem-
admodum quae inmortalia facere non potuit, quia
materia prohibebat, defendat a morte ac ratione
28 vitium corporis vincat. Manent enim cuncta, non
quia aeterna sunt, sed quia defenduntur cura regentis ;
inmortalia tutore non egerent. Haec conservat
artifex fragilitatem materiae vi sua vincens. Con-
temnamus omnia, quae adeo pretiosa non sunt, ut
29 an sint omnino, dubium sit. Illud simul cogitemus,
si mundum ipsum, non minus mortalem quam nos
sumus, providentia periculis eximit, posse aliquatenus
nostra quoque providentia longiorem prorogari! huic
corpusculo moram, si voluptates, quibus pars maior
30 perit, potuerimus regere et coercere. Plato ipse ad
senectutem se diligentia protulit. Erat quidem
corpus validum ac forte sortitus et illi nomen latitudo
pectoris fecerat, sed navigationes ac pericula multum
detraxerant viribus; parsimonia tamen et eorum,
quae aviditatem evocant, modus et diligens sui tutela
perduxit illum ad senectutem multis prohibentibus
31 causis. Nam hoc scis, puto, Platoni diligentiae suae
beneficio contigisse, quod natali suo decessit et
annum unum atque octogensimum inplevit sine ulla
deductione. Ideo magi, qui forte Athenis erant,

1 Perhaps we ought to read, with Rossbach, nos nostra

quoque providentia lonyiorem prorogare. O and b give pro-
rogare.

* Diogenes Laertius, iii. 1, who records also other ex-
planations of the name Plato, which replaced the given
name Aristocles.

404

EPISTLE LVIII.

things that are everlasting. Let us look up to the
idea] outlines of all things, that flit about on high, and
to the God who moves among them and plans how
he may defend from death that which he could not
make imperishable because its substance forbade,
and so by reason may overcome the defects of the
body. For all things abide, not because they are
everlasting, but because they are protected by the
care of him who governs all things; but that which
was imperishable would need no guardian. The
Master Builder keeps them safe, overcoming the
weakness of their fabric by his own power. Let us
despise everything that is so little an object of value
that it makes us doubt whether it exists at all. Let
us at the same time reflect, seeing that Providence
rescues from its perils the world itself, which is no
less mortal than we ourselves, that to some extent
our petty bodies can be made to tarry longer upon
earth by our own providence, if only we acquire the
ability to control and check those pleasures whereby
the greater portion of mankind perishes. Plato
himself, by taking pains, advanced to old age. To
be sure, he was the fortunate possessor of a strong
and sound body (his very name was given him
because of his broad chest®); but his strength was
much impaired by sea voyages and desperate
adventures. Nevertheless, by frugal living, by
setting a limit upon all that rouses the appetites,
and by painstaking attention to himself, he reached
that advanced age in spite of many hindrances.
You know, I am sure, that Plato had the good
fortune, thanks to his careful living, to die on
his birthday, after exactly completing his eighty-first
year. For this reason wise men of the East, who
happened to be in Athens at that time, sacrificed to

405

32

33

34

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

inmolaverunt defuncto, amplioris fuisse sortis quam
humanae rati, quia consummasset perfectissimum
numerum, quem novem novies multiplicata con-
ponunt. Non dubito, quin paratus sit et! paucos dies
ex ista summa et sacrificium remittere.

Potest frugalitas producere senectutem, quam ut
non puto concupiscendam, ita ne recusandam quidem.
Iucundum est secum esse quam diutissime, cum quis
se dignum, quo frueretur, effecit. Itaque de isto
feremus sententiam, an oporteat fastidire senectutis
extrema et finem non opperiri, sed manu facere.
Prope est a timente, qui fatum segnis expectat,
sicut ille ultra modum deditus vino est, qui amphoram
exiccat et faecem quoque exorbet. De hoc tamen
quaeremus, pars summa vitae utrum? faex sit an
liquidissimum ac purissimum quiddam, si modo mens
sine iniuria est et integri sensus animum iuvant nec
defectum et praemortuum corpus est. Plurimum
enim refert, vitam aliquis extendat an mortem. At
si inutile ministeriis corpus est, quidni oporteat
educere animum laborantem? Et fortasse paulo
ante quam debet, faciendum est, ne cum fieri debebit,
facere non possis. Et cum maius periculum sit male
vivendi quam cito moriendi, stultus est, qui non
exigua temporis mercede magnae rei aleam redimit.

Paucos longissima senectus ad mortem sine iniuria
pertulit, multis iners vita sine usu sui iacuit; quanto

1 The reading paratus sit et is nearest to Madvig’s paratus
sis et; par laus sit Buecheler ; parat auset p, parat ausisset
L; parataxusset V! ; paratus esset O ; parat avisset b. Haupt
conj. paratus et.

2 After utrwm Haase removed ea, the reading of MSS.

@ Cf. Plato, Phaedo, 114D Kal déitov Kivduvetca, olouevyp
otrws éxew* kadds yap 6 xlvduvos, the ‘**chance” being im-
mortality.

4.06

EPISTLE LVIII.

him after his death, believing that his length of days
was too full for a mortal man, since he had rounded
out the perfect number of nine times nine. I do not
doubt that he would have been quite willing to forgo
a few days from this total, as well as the sacrifice.

Frugal living can bring one to old age; and to
my mind old age is not to be refused any more than
it is to be craved. There is a pleasure in being in
one’s own company as long as possible, when a man
has made himself worth enjoying. The question,
therefore, on which we have to record our judgment
is, whether one should shrink from extreme old age
and should hasten the end artificially, instead of
waiting for it to come. A man who sluggishly
awaits his fate is almost a coward, just as he is im-
moderately given to wine who drains the jar dry
and sucks up even the dregs. But we shall ask
this question also: “Is the extremity of life the
dregs, or is it the clearest and purest part of all,
provided only that the mind is unimpaired, and the
senses, still sound, give their support to the spirit,
and the body is not worn out and dead before its
time?’’ For it makes a great deal of difference
whether a man is lengthening his life or his death.
But if the body is useless for service, why should
one not free the struggling soul? Perhaps one
ought to do this a little before the debt is due, lest,
when it falls due, he may be unable to perform the
act. And since the danger of living in wretchedness
is greater than the danger of dying soon, he is a fool
who refuses to stake a little time and win a hazard
of great gain.”

Few have lasted through extreme old age to
death without impairment, and many have lain inert;
making no use of themselves. How much more

VOL. I ow 407

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

deinde crudelius iudicas aliquid ex vita perdidisse

35 quam ius! finiendae? Noli me invitus audire,
tamquam ad te iam pertineat ista sententia, et quid
dicam aestima: non relinquam senectutem, si me
totum mihi reservabit, totum autem ab illa parte
meliore ; at si coeperit concutere mentem, si partes
eius convellere, si mihi non vitam reliquerit, sed
animam, prosiliam ex aedificio putri ac ruenti.

36 Morbum morte non fugiam, dumtaxat sanabilem nec
officientem animo. Non adferam mihi manus propter
dolorem; sic mori vinci est. Hunc tamen si sciero
perpetuo mihi esse patiendum, exibo, non propter
ipsum, sed quia inpedimento mihi futurus est ad
omne, propter quod vivitur. Inbecillus est et
ignavus, qui propter dolorem moritur, stultus, qui
doloris causa vivit.

37 Sed in longum exeo. Est praeterea materia, quae
ducere diem possit. Et quomodo finem imponere
vitae poterit, qui epistulae non potest? Vale ergo.
Quod libentius quam mortes meras lecturus es. VALE.

Pre
Seneca LyciLtio svo SALVTEM

1 Magnam ex epistula tua percepi voluptatem ; per-
mitte enim mihi uti verbis publicis nec illa ad signi-
ficationem Stoicam revoca. Vitium esse voluptatem
credimus. Sit sane; ponere tamen illam solemus ad

1 quam ius Madvig ; guamius p; quamvis LVPb.

@ Since vale means ‘‘ keep well ” no less than ‘‘ good-bye.”
408

EPISTLES LVIII., LIX.

cruel, then, do you suppose it really is to have lost
a portion of your life, than to have lost your right
to end that life? Do not hear me with reluctance,
as if my statement applied directly to you, but weigh
what I have to say. It is this: that I shall not
abandon old age, if old age preserves me intact for
myself, and intact as regards the better part of
myself; but if old age begins to shatter my mind,
and to pull its various faculties to pieces, if it leaves
me, not life, but only the breath of life, I shall rush
out of a house that is crumbling and tottering. I
shall not avoid illness by seeking death, as long as
the illness is curable and does not impede my soul.
I shall not lay violent hands upon myself just because
I am in pain; for death under such circumstances is
defeat. But if I find out that the pain must always
be endured, I shall depart, not because of the pain,
but because it will be a hindrance to me as regards
all my reasons for living. He who dies just because
he is in pain is a weakling, a coward; but he who
lives merely to brave out this pain, is a fool.

But I am running on too long ; and, besides, there
is matter here to fill a day. And how can a man
end his life, if he cannot end a letter? So farewell.
This last word you will read with greater pleasure
than all my deadly talk about death. Farewell.

LIX. ON PLEASURE AND JOY

[I received great pleasure from your letter; kindly
allow me to use these words in their everyday
meaning, without insisting upon their Stoic import.
For we Stoics hold that pleasure is a vice. Very
likely it is a vice; but we are accustomed to use

409

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

2 demonstrandam animi hilarem adtfectionem. Scio,
inquam, et voluptatem, si ad nostrum album! verba
derigimus, rem infamem esse et gaudium nisi sapienti
non contingere. Est enim animi elatio suis bonis
verisque fidentis. Vulgo tamen sic loquimur, ut
dicamus magnum gaudium nos ex illius consulatu
aut nuptiis aut ex partu uxoris percepisse, quae adeo
non sunt gaudia, ut saepe initia futurae tristitiae sint.
Gaudio autem iunctum est non desinere nec in con-
trarium verti.

3 Itaque cum dicit Vergilius noster

Et mala mentis gaudia,

diserte quidem dicit, sed parum proprie. Nullum
enim malum gaudium est. Voluptatibus hoc nomen
inposuit et quod voluit expressit. Significavit enim

4 homines malo suo laetos. Tamen ego non inmerito
dixeram cepisse me magnam ex epistula tua volupta-
tem ; quamvis enim ex honesta ? causa inperitus homo
gaudeat, tamen adfectum eius inpotentem et in diver-
sum statim inclinaturum voluptatem voco, opinione
falsi boni motam, inmoderatam et inmodicam.

Sed ut ad propositum revertar, audi, quid me in
epistula tua delectaverit: habes verba in potestate.
Non effert te oratio nec longius quam destinasti

5 trahit. Multi sunt, qui ad id, quod non proposuerant

1 album R, Agricola ; aluum or alium MSS.
2 honesta Lipsius ; homine ista MSS. ; non inhonesta O.
Rossbach.

« A figure taken from the praetor’s edict, which was
posted publicly on a white tablet, album.

b4.0)5 erlet: ¢ Aeneid, vi. 278.

@ The wise man, on the other hand, has his emotions
under control, and is less likely to be swayed by ‘‘an
opinion concerning a spurious good.”

410

EPISTLE LIX.

the word when we wish to indicate a happy state cf
mind. I am aware that if we test words by our
formula, even pleasure is a thing of ill repute, and
joy can be attained only by the wise. For “joy”’ is
an elation of spirit,—of a spirit which trusts in the
goodness and truth of its own possessions. The
common usage, however, is that we derive great
“joy” from a friend’s position as consul, or from his
marriage, or from the birth of his child; but these
events, so far from being matters of joy, are more
often the beginnings of sorrow to come. No, it is
a characteristic of real joy that it never ceases, and
never changes into its opposite.?
Accordingly, when our Vergil speaks of

The evil joys of the mind,°¢

his words are eloquent, but not strictly appropriate.
For no “joy” can be evil. He has given the name
“joy” to pleasures, and has thus expressed _ his
meaning. For he has conveyed the idea that men
take delight in their own evil. Nevertheless, I was
not wrong in saying that I received great “ pleasure ”’
from your letter; for although an ignorant? man may
derive “joy” if the cause be an honourable one, yet,
since his emotion is wayward, and is likely soon to
take another direction, I call it “pleasure” ; for it
is inspired by an opinion concerning a spurious good ;
it exceeds control and is carried to excess.

But, to return to the subject, let me tell you
what delighted me in your letter. You have your
words under control. You are not carried away by
your language, or borne beyond the limits which you
have determined upon. Many writers are tempted
by the charm of some alluring phrase to some topic

411

6

~J

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

scribere, alicuius verbi placentis decore vocentur,
quod tibi non evenit; pressa sunt omnia et rei
aptata. Loqueris quantum vis et plus significas quam
loqueris. Hoc maioris rei indicium est; apparet
animum quoque nihil habere supervacui, nihil tumidi.

Invenio tamen translationes verborum ut non
temerarias ita quae periculum sui fecerint. Invenio
imagines, quibus si quis nos uti vetat et poetis illas
solis iudicat esse concessas, neminem mihi videtur
ex antiquis legisse, apud quos nondum captabatur
plausibilis oratio. Illi, qui simpliciter et demon-
strandae rei causa eloquebantur, parabolis referti
sunt, quas existimo necessarias, non ex eadem causa
qua poetis, sed ut inbecillitatis nostrae adminicula
sint, ut et dicentem et audientem in rem praesentem
adducant. Sextium ecce cum maxime lego, virunt
acrem, Graecis verbis, Romanis moribus_philoso-
phantem. Movit me imago ab illo posita: ire qua-
drato agmine exercitum, ubi hostis ab omni parte
suspectus est, pugnae paratum; “Idem,” inquit,
“sapiens facere debet ; omnes virtutes suas undique
expandat, ut ubicumque infesti aliquid orietur, illic
parata praesidia sint et ad nutum regentis sine
tumultu respondeant.” Quod in exercitibus iis,

@ 7.e., in spite of the fact that your style is compact.

> Q. Sextius was a Stoic with Pythagorean leanings, who
lived in the days of Julius Caesar. He is also mentioned
in Epp. lxiv. and Ixxiii. A book of moral Sententiae, taken
over by the Church, is assigned to him, perhaps wrongly.

¢ Agmen quadratum was an army in a square formation,
with baggage in the middle, ready for battle,—as contrasted
with agmen iustum (close ranks), and acies triplex (a stationary

formation, almost rectangular). Agmen quadratum is first
found in the Spanish campaigns of the second century B.c.

412

EPISTLE LIX.

other than that which they had set themselves to
discuss. But this has not been so in your case; all
your words are compact, and suited to the subject.
You say all that you wish, and you mean still more
than you say. This is a proof of the importance
of your subject matter, showing that your mind, as
well as your words, contains nothing superfluous or
bombastic.

I do, however,* find some metaphors, not, indeed,
daring ones, but the kind which have stood the test
of use. I find similes also; of course, if anyone
forbids us to use them, maintaining that poets alone
have that privilege, he has not, apparently, read any
of our ancient prose writers, who had not yet learned
to affect a style that should win applause. For those
writers, whose eloquence was simple and directed
only towards proving their case, are full of compari-
sons; and | think that these are necessary, not for
the same reason which makes them necessary for
the poets, but in order that they may serve as props
to our feebleness, to bring both speaker and listener
face to face with the subject under discussion.
For example, J am at this very moment reading
Sextius?; he is a keen man, and a philosopher
who, though he writes in Greek, has the Roman
standard of ethics. One of his similes appealed
especially to me, that of an army marching in
hollow square,’ in a place where the enemy might
be expected to appear from any quarter, ready for
battle. ‘“ This,’ said he, “is just what the wise man
ought to do; he should have all his fighting qualities
deployed on every side, so that wherever the attack
threatens, there his supports may be ready to hand
and may obey the captain’s command without confu-
sion.” This is what we notice in armies which serve

413

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quos imperatores magni ordinant, fieri videmus, ut
imperium ducis simul omnes copiae sentiant, sic
dispositae, ut signum ab uno datum peditem simul
equitemque percurrat; hoc aliquanto magis neces-

8 sarium esse nobis ait. Illi enim saepe hostem

9

10

timuere sine causa, tutissimumque illis iter quod
suspectissimum fuit; nihil stultitia pacatum habet.
Tam superne illi metus est quam infra. Utrumque
trepidat latus. Secuntur pericula et occurrunt. Ad
omnia pavet, inparata est et ipsis terretur auxiliis.
Sapiens autem ad omnem incursum munitus, intentus,
non si paupertas, non si luctus, non si ignominia,
non si dolor impetum faciat, pedem referet. Inter-
ritus et contra illa ibit et inter illa.

Nos multa alligant, multa debilitant. Diu in istis
vitiis iacuimus, elui difficile est. Non enim inquinati
sumus, sed infecti. Ne ab alia imagine ad aliam
transeamus, hoc quaeram, quod saepe mecum di-
spicio: quid ita nos stultitia tam pertinaciter teneat ?
Primo quia non fortiter illam repellimus nec toto ad
salutem impetu nitimur, deinde quia illa, quae a
sapientibus viris reperta sunt, non satis credimus nec
apertis pectoribus haurimus leviterque tam magnae
rei insistimus. Quemadrnodum autem potest aliquis,
quantum satis sit, adversus vitia discere, qui quan-
tum a vitiis vacat, discit? Nemo nostrum in altum

4 7.e., by the troops of the second line, who in training
and qual ty were inferior to the troops of the legion.

> 2.e., from that of the ‘‘ fetter” to that of ‘*dust and
dye.” In §6 Seneca has praised Lucilius for his judicious
employment of metaphors.

414

EPISTLE LIX.

under great leaders; we see how all the troops
simultaneously understand their general’s orders,
since they are so arranged that a signal given by one
man passes down the ranks of cavalry and infantry
at the same moment. This, he declares, is still
more necessary for men like ourselves; for soldiers
have often feared an enemy without reason, and
the march which they thought most dangerous has
in fact been most secure; but folly brings no
repose, fear haunts it both in the van and in the rear
of the column, and both flanks are in a _ panic.
Folly is pursued, and confronted, by peril. It
blenches at everything; it is unprepared; it is
frightened even by auxiliary troops. But the wise
man is fortified against all inroads; he is alert; he
will not retreat before the attack of poverty, or of
sorrow, or of disgrace, or of pain. He will walk
undaunted both against them and among them.

We human beings are fettered and weakened by
many vices; we have wallowed in them for a long
time, and it is hard for us to be cleansed. We are
not merely defiled; we are dyed by them. But, to
refrain from passing from one figure? to another, I
will raise this question, which I often consider in
my own heart: why is it that folly holds us with
such an insistent grasp? It is, primarily, because we
do not combat it strongly enough, because we do
not struggle towards salvation with all our might;
secondly, because we do not put sufficient trust in the
discoveries of the wise, and do not drink in their
words with open hearts; we approach this great
problem in too trifling a spirit. But how can a man
learn, in the struggle against his vices, an amount
that is enough, if the time which he gives to
learning is only the amount left over from his vices?

415

Lt

12

13

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

descendit. Summa tantum decerpsimus et exiguum
temporis impendisse philosophiae satis abundeque
occupatis fuit. [llud praecipue impedit, quod cito
nobis placemus; si invenimus, qui nos bonos viros
dicat, qui prudentes, qui sanctos, adgnoscimus. Non
sumus modica laudatione contenti; quicquid in nos
adulatio sine pudore congessit, tamquam debitum
prendimus. Optimos nos esse, sapientissimos adfir-
mantibus adsentimur, cum sciamus illos saepe multa
mentiri. Adeoque indulgemus nobis, ut laudari
velimus in id, cui contraria cum maxime facimus.
Mitissimum ille se in ipsis suppliciis audit, in rapinis
liberalissimum, in! ebrietatibus ac libidinibus tem-
perantissimum. Sequitur itaque, ut ideo mutari
nolimus, quia nos optimos esse credimus.

Alexander cum iam in India vagaretur et gentes
ne finitimis quidem satis notas bello vastaret, in
obsidione cuiusdam urbis, dum? circumit muros et
inbecillissima moenium quaerit, sagitta ictus diu
persedere et incepta agere perseveravit. Deinde
cum represso sanguine sicci vulneris dolor cresceret
et crus suspensum equo paulatim - optorpuisset,
coactus apsistere “ Omnes,” inquit, “iurant esse me
Iovis filium, sed vulnus hoc hominem esse me
clamat.’’ Idem nos faciamus. Pro sua quemque

1 et in MSS. ; et deleted by Mentel.
2 dum added by P?, omitted by other MSS.

@ Several similar stories are related about Alexander, e.g.
Plutarch, Moralia, 180 £, where he says to his flatterers,
pointing to a wound just received: ** See, this is blood, not
ichor !”

416

EPISTLE LIX.

None of us goes deep below the surface. We skim
the top only, and we regard the smattering of time
spent in the search for wisdom as enough and to
spare for a busy man. What hinders us most of all
is that we are too readily satisfied with ourselves ;
if we meet with someone who calls us good men,
or sensible men, or holy men, we see ourselves in his
description. Not content with praise in moderation,
we accept everything that shameless flattery heaps
upon us, as if it were our due. We agree with those
who declare us to be the best and wisest of men,
although we know that they are given to much
lying. And we are so self-complacent that we desire
praise for certain actions when we are especially
addicted to the very opposite. Yonder person hears
himself called “most gentle’’ when he is inflicting
tortures, or “most generous” when he is engaged in
looting, or “most temperate” when he is in the
midst of drunkenness and lust. Thus it follows
that we are unwilling to be reformed, just because
we believe ourselves to be the best of men.
Alexander was roaming as far as India, ravaging
tribes that were but little known, even to their
neighbours. During the blockade of a certain city,
while he was reconnoitring the walls and hunting
for the weakest spot in the fortifications, he was
wounded by an arrow. Nevertheless, he long con-
tinued the siege, intent on finishing what he had
begun. The pain of his wound, however, as the
surface became dry and as the flow of blood was
checked, increased ; his leg gradually became numb
as he sat his horse; and finally, when he was forced
to withdraw, he exclaimed: “ All men swear that I
am the son of Jupiter, but this wound cries out that
I am mortal.” * Let us also act in the same way.

417

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

portione adulatio infatuat. Dicamus: ‘“ Vos quidem
dicitis me prudentem esse, ego autem video, quain
multa inutilia concupiscam, nocitura optem. Ne hoc
quidem intellego, quod animalibus satietas monstrat,
quis cibo debeat esse, quis potioni modus. Quantum
capiam adhuc nescio.”’

14 Iam docebo, quemadmodum intellegas te non esse
sapientem. Sapiens ille plenus est gaudio, hilaris et
placidus, inconcussus ; cum dis ex pari vivit. Nunc
ipse te consule; si numquam maestus es, nulla spes
animum tuum futuri exspectatione sollicitat, si per
dies noctesque par et aequalis animi tenor erecti et
vlacentis sibi est, pervenisti ad humani boni summam.
Sed si adpetis voluptates et undique et omnes, scito
tantum tibi ex sapientia, quantum ex gaudio deesse.
Ad hoc cupis pervenire, sed erras, qui inter divitias
illuc venturum esse te speras, inter honores, id est,
gaudium inter sollicitudines quaeris. -Ista, quae sic
petis tamquam datura laetitiam ac voluptatem, causae
dolorum sunt.

15 Omnes, inquam, illi tendunt ad gaudium, sed
unde stabile magnumque consequantur, ignorant.
Ille ex conviviis et luxuria, ille ex ambitione et
circumfusa clientium turba, ille ex amica, alius ex

studiorum liberalium vana ostentatione et nihil
418

EPISTLE LIX.

Each man, according to his lot in life, is stultified by
flattery. We should say to him who flatters us:
“ You call me a man of sense, but J understand how
many of the things which I crave are useless, and how
many of the things which IJ desire will do me harm.
I have not even the knowledge, which satiety teaches
to animals, of what should be the measure of my
food or my drink. I do not yet know how much
I can hold.”

I shall now show you how you may know that
you are not wise. The wise man is joyful, happy
and calm, unshaken; he lives on a plane with the
gods. Now go, question yourself; if you are never
downcast, if your mind is not harassed by any appre-
hension, through anticipation of what is to come, if
day and night your soul keeps on its even and un-
swerving course, upright and content with itself, then
you have attained to the greatest good that mortals
can possess. If, however, you seek pleasures of all
kinds in all directions, you must know that you are as
far short of wisdom as you are short of joy. Joy is the
goal which you desire to reach, but you are wander-
ing from the path, if you expect to reach your goal
while you are in the midst of riches and official titles,
—in other words, if you seek joy in the midst of
cares. These objects for which you strive so eagerly,
as if they would give you happiness and pleasure, are
merely causes of grief.

All men of this stamp, I maintain, are pressing on
in pursuit of joy, but they do not know where they
may obtain a joy that is both great and enduring.
One person seeks it in feasting and self-indulgence ;
another, in canvassing for honours and in being
surrounded by a throng of clients; another, in his
mistress ; another, in idle display of culture and in

419

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sanantibus litteris ; omnes istos oblectamenta fallacia
et brevia decipiunt, sicut ebrietas, quae unius horae
hilarem insaniam longi temporis taedio pensat, sicut
plausus et adclamationis secundae favor, qui magna
sollicitudine et partus est et expiandus.

16 Hoc ergo cogita, hunc esse sapientiae effectum,
gaudii aequalitatem. Talis est sapientis animus,
qualis mundus! super lunam; semper illic serenum
est. Habes ergo et? quare velis sapiens esse, si num-
quam sine gaudio est. Gaudium hoc non nascitur

17 nisi ex virtutum conscientia. Non potest gaudere,
nisi fortis, nisi iustus, nisi temperans. “Quid ergo?”
inquis, “Stulti ac mali non gaudent?” Non magis
quam praedam nancti leones. Cum fatigaverunt se
vino ac libidinibus, cum illos nox inter vitia defecit,
cum voluptates angusto corpori ultra quam capiebat
ingestae suppurare coeperunt, tunc exclamant miseri
Vergilianum illum versum :

Namque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem
Egerimus, nosti.

18 Omnem luxuriosi noctem inter falsa gaudia et
quidem tamquam supremam agunt; illud gaudium,
quod deos deorumque aemulos sequitur, non inter-
rumpitur, non desinit; desineret, si sumptum esset

1 mundus b' V2P? ; mundi pLV'!P'; mundi status Erasmus ;
facies mundi Hense.
2 et Haase; ut pLV, omitted in Pb.

3 esse, si numquam Haase ; esse et sinum quam p ; esse quia
si numquam LV PbO.

@ Seneca returns to the definition of gawdiwm given in § 2:
‘‘ True joy never ceases and never changes into its opposite.”
It is not subject to ups and downs.

’ Of. Seneca, De Ira, iii. 6.1. The upper firmament, near
the stars, is free from clouds and storms. It is calm, though
the lightning plays below.

¢ Aeneid, vi. 513f. The night is that which preceded
the sack of Troy.

4.20

EPISTLE LIX.

literature that has no power to heal; all these
men are led astray by delights which are deceptive
and _ short-lived—like drunkenness for example,
which pays for a single hour of hilarious madness
by a sickness of many days, or like applause and
the popularity of enthusiastic approval which are
gained, and atoned for, at the cost of great mental
disquietude.

Reflect, therefore, on this, that the effect of
wisdom is a joy that is unbroken and continuous.%
The mind of the wise man is like the ultra-lunar
firmament? ; eternal calm pervades that region. You
have, then, a reason for wishing to be wise, if the
wise man is never deprived of joy. This joy springs
only from the knowledge that you possess the virtues.
None but the brave, the just, the self-restrained,
can rejoice. And when you query: “ What do you
mean? Do not the foolish and the wicked also
rejoice?” I reply, no more than lions who have
caught their prey. When men have wearied them-
selves with wine and lust, when night fails them
before their debauch is done, when the pleasures
which they have heaped upon a body that is too
small to hold them begin to fester, at such times
they utter in their wretchedness those lines of
Vergil ©:

Thou knowest how, amid false-glittering joys,
We spent that last of nights.

Pleasure-lovers spend every night amid false-
glittering joys, and just as if it were their last.
But the joy which comes to the gods, and to those
who imitate the gods, is not broken off, nor does it
cease ; but it would surely cease were it borrowed

421

l

2

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

aliunde. Quia non est alieni muneris, ne arbitrii
quidem alieni est. Quod non dedit fortuna, non
eripit. VALE.

LX.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

Queror, litigo, irascor. Etiamnunc optas, quod
tibi optavit nutrix tua aut paedagogus aut mater?
Nondum intellegis, quantum mali optaverint? O
quam inimica nobis sunt vota nostrorum! Eo
quidem inimiciora quo cessere felicius. Jam non
admiror, si omnia nos a prima pueritia mala secuntur ;
inter execrationes parentum crevimus. Exaudiant
di nostram quoque! pro nobis vocem gratuitam.

Quousque poscemus aliquid deos ita quasi ? nondum
ipsi alere nos possimus? Quamdiu sationibus in-
plebimus magnarum urbium campos? Quamdiu
nobis populus metet? Quamdiu unius mensae in-
strumentum multa navigia et quidem non ex uno
mari subvehent? Taurus paucissimorum iugerum
pascuo impletur; una silva elephantis pluribus
sufficit; homo et terra et mari pascitur. Quid
ergo? Tam insatiabilem nobis natura alvum dedit,
cum tam modica corpora dedisset, ut vastissimorum
edacissimorumque animalium aviditatem vinceremus?
Minime. Quantulum est enim, quod naturae datur?

1 nostram quoque Buecheler; quoque nostram MSS. ;
quandoque nostram Muretus.
2 ita quasi Haase ; quasi ita or ita MSS.

422

EPISTLES LIX., LX.

from without. Just because it is not in the power
of another to bestow, neither is it subject to another's
whims. That which Fortune has not given, she
cannot take away. Farewell.

LX. ON HARMFUL PRAYERS

I file a complaint, I enter a suit, I am angry.
Do you still desire what your nurse, your guardian,
or your mother, have prayed for in your behalf?
Do you not yet understand what evil they prayed
for? Alas, how hostile to us are the wishes of our
own folk! And they are all the more hostile in
proportion as they are more completely fulfilled. It
is no surprise to me, at my age, that nothing but evil
attends us from our early youth; for we have grown
up amid the curses invoked by our parents. And
may the gods give ear to our cry also, uttered in our
own behalf,—one which asks no favours!

How long shall we go on making demands upon the
gods, as if we were still unable to support ourselves ?
How long shall we continue to fill with grain the
market-places of our great cities? How long must the
people gather it in for us? How long shall many
ships convey the requisites for a single meal, bring-
ing them from no single sea? The bull is filled
when he feeds over a few acres; and one forest is
large enough for a herd of elephants. Man, how-
ever, draws sustenance both from the earth and
from the sea. What, then? Did nature give us
bellies so insatiable, when she gave us these puny
bodies, that we should outdo the hugest and most
voracious animals in greed? Not at all. How small
is the amount which will satisfy naturer A very

423

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Parvo illa dimittitur. Non fames nobis ventris nostri

4 magno constat, sed ambitio. Hos itaque, ut ait
Sallustius, “ventri oboedientes” animalium loco
numeremus, non hominum, quosdam vero ne anima-
lium quidem, sed mortuorum. Vivit is, qui multis
usui est, vivit is, qui se utitur; qui vero latitant et
torpent, sic in domo sunt, quomodo in conditivo.
Horum licet in limine ipso nomen marmori inscribas,
mortem suam antecesserunt. VALE.

LXE
SenEca LvcILIO SVO SALVTEM

l Desinamus, quod voluimus, velle. Ego certe id
ago: senex ea desii velle! quae puer volui. In hoc
unum eunt dies, in hoc noctes, hoc opus meum est,
haec cogitatio: inponere veteribus malis finem. Id
ago, ut mihi instar totius vitae dies sit. Nec meher-
cules tamquam ultimum rapio, sed sic illum aspicio,

2 tamquam esse vel ultimus possit. Hoc animo tibi
hance epistulam scribo, tamquam me cum maxime
scribentem mors evocatura sit. Paratus exire sum
et ideo fruar vita, quia quam diu futurum hoc sit,
non nimis pendeo.

Ante senectutem curavi, ut bene viverem, in
senectute, ut bene moriar; bene autem mori est

1 senex; ea desit velle Schultess; senex cadem velle
pLVPb; senex ne eadem velle videar later MSS; senex ne
eadem velim Uense after Madvig.

@ Catiline, i. 1.

> i.e., like animals.

¢ i.e., you may put an epitaph upon his dwelling as if it
were a tomb.

424

EPISTLES LX., LXI.

little will send her away contented. It is not the
natural hunger of our bellies that costs us dear, but
our solicitous cravings. Therefore those who, as
Sallust®% puts it, “hearken to their bellies,’ should
be numbered among the animals, and not among
men; and certain men, indeed, should be numbered,
not even among the animals, but among the dead.
He really lives who is made use of by many; he
really lives who makes use of himself. Those men,
however, who creep into a hole and grow torpid?
are no better off in their homes than if they were in
their tombs. Right there on the marble lintel of
the house of such a man you may inscribe his name,¢
for he has died before he is dead. Farewell.

LXI. ON MEETING DEATH CHEERFULLY

Let us cease to desire that which we have been
desiring. I, at least, am doing this: in my old age
I have ceased to desire what I desired when a boy.
To this single end my days and my nights are
passed; this is my task, this the object of my
thoughts,—to put an end to my chronic ills. I am
endeavouring to live every day as if it were a com-
plete life. I do not indeed snatch it up as if it were
my last; I do regard it, however, as if it might
even be my last. The present letter is written to you
with this in mind,—as if death were about to call
me away in the very act of writing. I am ready to
depart, and I shall enjoy life just because I am not
over-anxious as to the future date of my departure.

Before I became old I tried to live well; now
that I am old, I shall try to die well; but dying

425

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

libenter mori. Da operam, ne quid umquam invitus

3 facias. Quicquid necesse futurum est repugnanti,
volenti necessitas non est. Ita dico: qui imperia
libens excipit, partem acerbissimam servitutis effugit,
facere quod nolit. Non qui iussus aliquid facit, miser
est, set qui invitus facit. Itaque sic animum conpona-
mus, ut quicquid res exiget, id velimus et in primis

4ut finem nostri sine tristitia cogitemus. Ante ad
mortem quam ad vitam praeparandi sumus. Satis
instructa vita est, sed nos in instrumenta eius avidi
sumus; deesse aliquid nobis videtur et semper vide-
bitur. Ut satis vixerimus, nec anni nec dies faciunt,
sed animus. Vixi, Lucili carissime, quantum satis
erat; mortem plenus exspecto. VaLe.

¢

LXIL.
Seneca LyciLio svo sALVTEM

1 Mentiuntur, qui sibi obstare ad studia liberalia
turbam negotiorum videri volunt; simulant occupa-
tiones et augent et ipsi se occupant. Vaco, Lucili,
vaco et ubicumque sum, ibi meus sum. Rebus enim
me non trado, sed commodo, nec consector perdendi
temporis causas. Et quocumque constiti loco, ibi
cogitationes meas tracto et aliquid in animo salutare

¢ A reminiscence of Lucretius, iii. 938 f. Cur non ut plenus
vitae conviva recedis Aequo reat gS securam, stulte,
quietem? Cf. also Horace, Sat. i. 1. 1181. vita Vedat uti con-
vira satur.

426

EPISTLES LXI., LXII.

well means dying gladly. See to it that you never
do anything unwillingly. That which is bound to bea
necessity if you rebel, is not a necessity if you desire
it. This is what I mean: he who takes his orders
gladly, escapes the bitterest part of slavery,—doing
what one does not want to do. The man who
does something under orders is not unhappy ; he is
unhappy who does something against his will. Let
us therefore so set our minds in order that we may
desire whatever is demanded of us by circumstances,
and above all that we may reflect upon our end with-
out sadness. We must make ready for death before
we make ready for life. Life is well enough furnished,
but we are too greedy with regard to its furnishings ;
something always seems to us lacking, and will always
seem lacking. To have lived long enough depends
neither upon our years nor upon our days, but upon
our minds. I have lived, my dear friend Lucilius,
long enough. I have had my fill?; I await death,
Farewell.

LXII. ON GOOD COMPANY

We are deceived by those who would have us
believe that a multitude of affairs blocks their pursuit
of liberal studies; they make a pretence of their
engagements, and multiply them, when their en-
gagements are merely with themselves. As for me,
Lucilius, my time is free; it is indeed free, and
wherever I am, I am master of myself. For I do
not surrender myself to my affairs, but loan- myself
to them, and I do not hunt out excuses for wasting
my time. And wherever I am situated, I carry on
my own meditations and ponder in my mind some

427

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

2 converso. Cum me amicis dedi non tamen mihi
abduco, nec cum illis moror, quibus me tempus ali-
quod congregavit aut causa ex officio nata civili,! sed
cum optimo quoque sum ; ad illos, in quocumque loco,
in quocumque saeculo fuerunt, animum meum mitto.

3 Demetrium, virorum optimum, mecum circumfero et
relictis conchyliatis cum illo seminudo loquor, illum
admiror. Quidni admirer? Vidi nihil ei deesse.
Contemnere aliquis omnia potest, omnia habere
nemo potest. Brevissima ad divitias per contemptum
divitiarum via est. Demetrius autem noster sic vivit,
non tamquam contempserit omnia, sed tamquam aliis
habenda permiserit. Wace.

LXE
Seneca LyctLio svo sALVrEM

1 Moleste fero decessisse Flaccum, amicum tuum,
plus tamen aequo dolere te nolo. Illud, ut non
doleas, vix audebo exigere; et esse melius scio.
Sed cui ista firmitas animi continget nisi iam multum
supra fortunam elato? Illum quogue ista res velli-
cabit, sed tantum vellicabit. Nobis autem ignosci
potest prolapsis ad lacrimas, si non nimiae decucur-
rerunt, si ipsi illas repressimus. Nec sicci sint oculi

} civili late MSS. ; civi the rest, followed by Hense.

+ Demetrius of Sunium, the Cynic philosopher, who taught
in Rome in the reign of Caligula and was banished by Nero.
> a.¢., he has achieved the Stoic ideal of independence of
all external control ; he is a king and has all things to bestow
upon others, but needs nothing for himself.
428

EPISTLES LXII., LXIII.

wholesome thought. When I give myself to my
friends, I do not withdraw from my own company, nor
do I linger with those who are associated with me
through some special occasion or some case which
arises from my official position. But I spend my time
in the company of all the best; no matter in what
lands they may have lived, or in what age, I let
my thoughts fly to them. Demetrius,’ for instance,
the best of men, I take about with me, and, leaving
the wearers of purple and fine linen, I talk with
him, half-naked as he is, and hold him in high
esteem. Why should I not hold him in high esteem?
I have found that he lacks nothing. It is in the
power of any man to despise all things, but of no
man to possess all things. The shortest cut to
riches is to despise riches. Our friend Demetrius,
however, lives not merely as if he has learned to
despise all things, but as if he has handed them
over for others to possess.? Farewell.

LXIII. ON GRIEF FOR LOST FRIENDS

I am grieved to hear that your friend Flaccus is
dead, but I would not have you sorrow more than is
fitting. That you should not mourn at all I shall
hardly dare to insist; and yet I know that it is the
better way. But what man will ever be so blessed
with that ideal steadfastness of soul, unless he has
already risen far above the reach of Fortune? Even
such a man will be stung by an event like this, but
it will be only a sting. We, however, may be for-
given for bursting into tears, if only our tears have
not flowed to excess, and if we have checked them
by our own efforts. Let not the eyes be dry when

4.29

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

amisso amico nec fluant. Lacrimandum est, non
plorandum.

2 Duram tibi legem videor ponere, cum poetarum
Graecorum maximus ius flendi dederit in unum
dumtaxat diem, cum dixerit etiam Niobam de cibo
cogitasse? Quaeris, unde sint lamentationes, unde
inmodici fletus? Per lacrimas argumenta desiderii
quaerimus et dolorem non sequimur, sed ostendimus.
Nemo tristis sibi est. O infelicem stultitiam! Est
aliqua et doloris ambitio.

3 “Quidergo?” inquis, “Obliviscar amici?” Brevem
illi apud te memoriam promittis, si cum dolore man-
sura est; iam istam frontem ad risum quaelibet
fortuita res transferet. Non differo in longius tempus,
quo desiderium omne mulcetur, quo etiam acerrimi
luctus residunt. Cum primum te observare desieris,
imago ista tristitiae discedet; nune ipse custodis
dolorem tuum. Sed custodienti quoque elabitur
eoque citius, quo est acrior, desinit.

4 {d agamus, ut iucunda nobis amissorum fiat re-
cordatio. Nemo libenter ad id redit, quod non sine
tormento cogitaturus est. Sic et! illud fieri necesse
est, ut cum aliquo nobis morsu amissorum, quos
amavimus, nomen occurrat. Sed hic quoque morsus

5 habet suam voluptatem. Nam, ut dicere solebat
Attalus noster, “sic amicorum defunctorum memoria

1 sic et Hense; sic ut pLV; sic Pb.

« Homer, Iliad, xix. 229 and xxiv. 602.
» The teacher of Seneca, often mentioned by him.

430

EPISTLE LXIII.

we have lost a friend, nor let them overflow. We
may weep, but we must not wail.

Do you think that the law which I lay down for
you is harsh, when the greatest of Greek poets has
extended the privilege of weeping to one day only,
in the lines where he tells us that even Niobe took
thought of food%? Do you wish to know the reason
for lamentations and excessive weeping? It is because
we seek the proofs of our bereavement in our tears,
and do not give way to sorrow, but merely parade
it. No man goes into mourning for his own sake.
Shame on our ill-timed folly! There is an element
of self-seeking even in our sorrow.

« What,” you say, “am I to forget my friend?”
It is surely a short-lived memory that you vouchsafe
to him, if it is to endure only as long as your grief;
presently that brow of yours will be smoothed out in
laughter by some circumstance, however casual. It
is to a time no more distant than this that I put off
the soothing of every regret, the quieting of even the
bitterest grief. As soon as you cease to observe
yourself, the picture of sorrow which you have con-
templated will fade away ; at present you are keeping
watch over your own suffering. But even while you
keep watch it slips away from you, and the sharper
it is, the more speedily it comes to an end.

Let us see to it that the recollection of those whom
we have lost becomes a pleasant memory to us. No
man reverts with pleasure to any subject which he
will not be able to reflect upon without pain. So too
it cannot but be that the names of those whom we
have loved and lost come back to us with a sort of
sting; but there is a pleasure even in this sting.
For, as my friend Attalus® used to say: “The re-
membrance of lost friends is pleasant in the same

VOL. I P 431

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

iucunda est, quomodo poma quaedam sunt suaviter
aspera, quomodo in vino nimis veteri ipsa nos
amaritudo delectat; cum vero intervenit spatium,
omne, quod angebat, extinguitur et pura ad nos
6 voluptas venit.” Si illi credimus, “ Amicos incolumes
cogitare melle ac placenta frui est; eorum, qui
fuerunt, retractatio non sine acerbitate quadam iuvat.
Quis autem negaverit haec acria quoque et habentia
7 austeritatis aliquid stomachum excitare?”’ Ego non
idem sentio, mihi amicorum defunctorum cogitatio
dulcis ac blanda est. Habui enim illos tamquam
amissurus, amisi tamquam habeam.
Fac ergo, mi Lucili, quod aequitatem tuam decet,
desine beneficium fortunae male interpretari; abs-
8 tulit, sed dedit. Ideo amicis avide fruamur, quia
quamdiu contingere hoc possit, incertum est. Cogi-
temus, quam saepe illos reliquerimus in aliquam pere-

grinationem longinquam exituri, quam saepe eodem

morantes loco non viderimus; intellegemus plus nos —

9 temporis in vivis perdidisse. Feras autem hos, qui
neglegentissime amicos habent, miserrime lugent, nec
amant quemquam, nisi perdiderunt? Ideoque tunc
effusius maerent, quia verentur, ne dubium sit, an

10 amaverint; sera indicia adfectus sui quaerunt. Si

habemus alios amicos, male de iis et meremur et
432

K

EPISTLE LXIII.

way that certain fruits have an agreeably acid taste,
or as in extremely old wines it is their very bitterness
that pleases us. Indeed, after a certain lapse of time,
every thought that gave pain is quenched, and the
pleasure comes to us unalloyed.” If we take the word
of Attalus for it, “to think of friends who are alive
and well is like enjoying a meal of cakes and honey ;
the recollection of friends who have passed away
gives a pleasure that is not without a touch of bitter-
ness. Yet who will deny that even these things,
which are bitter and contain an element of sourness,
do serve to arouse the stomach?” For my part, I
do not agree with him. To me, the thought of my
dead friends is sweet and appealing. For I have
had them as if I should one day lose them; I have
lost them as if I have them still.

Therefore, Lucilius, act as befits your own
serenity of mind, and cease to put a wrong interpre-
tation on the gifts of Fortune. Fortune has taken
away, but Fortune has given. Let us greedily enjoy
our friends, because we do not know how long this
privilege will be ours. Let us think how often we
shall leave them when we: go upon distant journeys,
and how often we shall fail to see them when we
tarry together in the same place; we shal] thus
understand that we have lost too much of their time
while they were alive. But will you tolerate men
who are most careless of their friends, and then
mourn them most abjectly, and do not love anyone
unless they have lost him? The reason why they
lament too unrestrainedly at such times is that they
are afraid lest men doubt whether they really have
loved; all too late they seek for proofs of their
emotions. If we have other friends, we surely
deserve ill at their hands and think ill of them, if

4.33

1]

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

existimamus, qui parum valent in unius elati solacium;
si non habemus, maiorem iniuriam ipsi nobis fecimus
quam a fortuna accepimus; illa unum abstulit, nos,
quemcumque non fecimus. Deinde ne unum quidem
nimis amavit, qui plus quam unum amare non potuit.
Si quis despoliatus amissa unica tunica conplorare se
malit quam cireumspicere, quomodo frigus effugiat et
aliquid inveniat, quo tegat scapulas, nonne tibi videa-
tur stultissimus ?

Quem amabas, extulisti; quaere, quem ames.
Satius est amicum reparare quam flere. Scio per-
tritum iam hoc esse, quod adiecturus sum, non ideo
tamen praetermittam, quia ab omnibus dictum est:
finem dolendi etiam qui consilio non fecerat, tempore
invenit. Turpissimum autem est in homine prudente
remedium maeroris lassitudo maerendi. Malo relin-
quas dolorem quam ab illo relinquaris, et quam primum
id facere desiste, quod etiam si voles, diu facere non

13 poteris. Annum feminis ad lugendum constituere

maiores, non ut tam diu lugerent, sed ne diutius ;
viris nullum legitimum tempus est, quia nullum
honestum. Quam tamen mihi ex illis mulierculis
dabis vix retractis a rogo, vix a cadavere revulsis, cui
lacrimae in totum mensem duraverint? Nulla res

@ The reason is, as Lipsius observed, that friendship is
essentially a social virtue, and is not confined to one object.
The pretended friendship for one and only one is a form of
self-love, and is not unselfish love.

» According to tradition, from the timeof Numa Pompilius.

434

EPISTLE LXIII.

they are of so little account that they fail to console
us for the loss of one. If, on the other hand, we
have no other friends, we have injured ourselves
more than Fortune has injured us; since Fortune has
robbed us of one friend, but we have robbed ourselves
of every friend whom we have failed to make.
Again, he who has been unable to love mure than
one, has had none too much love even for that one.
If a man who has lost his one and only tunic through
robbery chooses to bewail his plight rather than
look about him for some way to escape the cold, or
for something with which to cover his shoulders,
would you not think him an utter fool ?

You have buried one whom you loved; look about
for someone to love. It is better to replace your
friend than to weep for him. What I am about to
add is, I know, a very hackneyed remark, but I shall
not omit it simply because it is a common phrase :
A man ends his grief by the mere passing of time,
even if he has not ended it of his own accord. But
the most shameful cure for sorrow, in the case of a
sensible man, is to grow weary of sorrowing. I
should prefer you to abandon grief, rather than have
grief abandon you; and you should stop grieving as
soon as possible, since, even if you wish to do so, it is
impossible to keep it up for a long time. Our fore-
fathers” have enacted that, in the case of women, a
year should be the limit for mourning ; not that they
needed to mourn for so long, but that they should
mourn no longer. In the case of men, no rules are
laid down, because to mourn at all is not regarded as
honourable. For all that, what woman can you show
me, of all the pathetic females that could scarcely be
dragged away from the funeral-pile or torn from the
corpse, whose tears have lasted a whole month?

435

14

15

16

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

citius in odium venit quam dolor, qui recens con-
solatorem invenit et aliquos ad se adducit, inveteratus
vero deridetur, nec inmerito. Aut enim simulatus
aut stultus est.

Haec tibi scribo is, qui Annaeum Serenum, carissi-
mum mihi, tam inmodice flevi, ut, quod minime velim,
inter exempla sim eorum, quos dolor vicit. | Hodie
autem factum meum damno et intellego maximam
mihi causam sic lugendi fuisse, quod numquam cogi-
taveram mori eum ante me posse. Hoe unum mili
occurrebat, minorem esse et multo minorem, tamquam
ordinem fata servarent.

Itaque adsidue cogitemus tam de nostra quam
omnium, quos diligimus, mortalitate. Tune ego!
debui dicere: “ Minor est Serenus meus; quid ad
rem pertinet? Post me mori debet, sed ante me
potest.” Quia non feci, inparatum subito fortuna
percussit. Nunc cogita omnia et mortalia esse et
incerta lege mortalia. Hodie fieri potest, quicquid
umquam potest. Cogitemus ergo, Lucili carissime,
cito nos eo perventuros, quo illum pervenisse
maeremus. Et fortasse, si modo vera sapientium
fama est recipitque nos locus aliquis, quem putamus
perisse, praemissus est. VALE.

1 ego the other MSS. ; ergo p, possibly rightly.

* An intimate friend of Seneca, probably a relative, who
died in the year 63 from eating poisoned mushrooms (Pliny,
N. If. xxii. 96). Seneca dedicated to Serenus several of his
philosophical] essays.

> Cf. the closing chapter of the Agricola of Tacitus : si, ut
sapientibus placet, non cum corpore exstinguuntur magnae
animae, etc.

436

EPISTLE LXIII.

Nothing becomes offensive so quickly as grief; when
fresh, it finds someone to console it and attracts one
or another to itself; but after becoming chronic, it is
ridiculed, and rightly. For it is either assumed or
foolish.

He who writes these words to you is no other
than I, who wept so excessively for my dear friend
Annaeus Serenus @ that, in spite of my wishes, I must
be included among the examples of men who have
been overcome by grief. To-day, however, I con-
demn this act of mine, and I understand that the
reason why I lamented so greatly was chiefly that I
had. never imagined it possible for his death to pre-
cede mine. The only thought which occurred to my
mind was that he was the younger, and much younger,
too,—as if the Fates kept to the order of our ages!

Therefore let us continually think as much about
our own mortality as about that of all those we love.
In former days I ought to have said: “ My friend
Serenus is younger than I; but what does that
matter? He would naturally die after me, but he
may precede me.” It was just because I did not do
this that I was unprepared when Fortune dealt me
the sudden blow. Now is the time for you to reflect,
not only that all things are mortal, but also that
their mortality is subject to no fixed law. Whatever
can happen at any time can happen to-day. Let us
therefore reflect, my beloved Lucilius, that we shall
soon come to the goal which this friend, to our own
sorrow, has reached. And perhaps, if only the tale
told by wise men is true? and there is a bourne to
welcome us, then he whom we think we have lost
has only been sent on ahead. Farewell.

4.37

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

eT.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

Fuisti here nobiscum. Potes! queri, si here
tantum. Ideo adieci “nobiscum.’”” Mecum enim
semper es. Intervenerant quidam amici, propter
quos maior fumus fieret, non hic, qui erumpere ex
lautorum culinis et terrere vigiles solet, sed hic
2 modicus, qui hospites venisse significet. | Varius
nobis fuit sermo, ut in convivio, nullam rem usque
ad exitum adducens, sed aliunde alio transiliens.
Lectus est deinde liber Quinti Sextii patris, magni,
si quid mihi credis, viri et, licet neget, Stoici.
3 Quantus in illo, di boni, vigor est, quantum animi!
Hoc non in omnibus philosophis invenies ; quorundam
scripta clarum habentium? nomen exanguia sunt.
Instituunt, disputant, cavillantur, non faciunt animum,
quia non habent; cum legeris Sextium, dices: “ Vivit,
viget, liber est, supra hominem est, dimittit me
4 plenum ingentis fiduciae.”’ In qua positione mentis
sim, cum hunce lego, fatebor tibi: libef omnis casus
provocare, libet exclamare: ‘“ Quid cessas, fortuna?
Congredere; paratum vides.” Illius animum induo,
qui quaerit, ubi se experiatur, ubi virtutem suam
ostendat,

1 »wotes later MSS. ; potest pLVPb.
2 habentium Bickel; habent tum ps; habent tantum LVPb.

@ See on Fp. lix.7. As the following sentence indicates,
he seems to have considered himself an eclectic in philosophy,
and to have been half Stoic, half Pythagorean.

438

EPISTLE LXIV.

EXTY. (ON THE PHILOSOPHERS .WASK

Yesterday you were with us. You might complain
if I said “yesterday”’ merely. This is why I have
added “with us.’ For, so far as I am concerned,
you are always with me. Certain friends had
happened in, on whose account a somewhat brighter
fire was laid,—not the kind that generally bursts
from the kitchen chimneys of the rich and scares the
watch, but the moderate blaze which means that
guests have come. Our talk ran on various themes,
as is natural at a dinner; it pursued no chain of
thought to the end, but jumped from one topic to
another. We then had read to us a book by Quintus
Sextius the Elder. He is a great man, if you have
any confidence in my opinion, and a real Stoic,
though he himself denies it. Ye Gods, what
strength and spirit one finds in him! This is not
the case with all philosophers; there are some men
of illustrious name whose writings are sapless. They
lay down rules, they argue, and they quibble; they
do not infuse spirit simply because they have no
spirit. But when you come to read Sextius, you
will sayce Tie is*alives “he “is ‘strong; ne is ‘iree’;
he is more than a man; he fills me with a mighty
confidence before I close his book.” I shall acknow-
ledge to you the state of mind I am in when I read
his works: I want to challenge every hazard; I
want to cry: “Why keep me waiting, Fortune?
Enter the lists! Behold, I am ready for you!” I
assume the spirit of a man who seeks where he
may make trial of himself, where he may show his
worth :

VOL. I p 2 439

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis
Optat aprum aut fulvum descendere monte leonem.

5 Libet aliquid habere quod vincam, cuius patientia
exercear. Nam hoc quoque egregium Sextius habet,
quod et ostendet tibi beatae vitae magnitudinem et
desperationem eius non faciet; scies esse illam in
excelso, sed volenti penetrabilem.

6 Hoc idem virtus tibi ipsa praestabit, ut illam
admireris et tamen speres. Mihi certe multum
auferre temporis solet contemplatio ipsa sapientiae ;
non aliter illam intueor obstupefactus quam ipsum
interim mundum, quem saepe tamquam spectator

7 novus video. Veneror itaque inventa sapientiae
inventoresque ; adire tamquam multorum hereditatem
iuvat. Mihi ista adquisita, mihi laborata sunt. Sed
agamus bonum patrem familiae; faciamus ampliora,
quae accepimus. Maior ista hereditas a me ad
posteros transeat. Multum adhuc restat operis
multumque restabit, nec ulli nato post mille saecula

8 praecludetur occasio aliquid adhuc adiciendi. Sed
etiam si omnia a veteribus inventa sunt, hoc semper
novum erit,! usus et inventorum ab aliis scientia ac
dispositio. Puta relicta nobis medicamenta, quibus
sanarentur oculi; non opus est mihi alia quaerere,

1 erit the other MSS. ; ille erit L, for which Haase pro-
poses ili.
AR Vergil, Aeneid, iv. 158f. The boy Ascanius, at Dido’s
hunt, longs for wilder game than the deer and the goats.
4.4.0

EPISTLE LXIV.

And fretting ’mid the unwarlike flocks he prays
Some foam-flecked boar may cross his path, or else
A tawny lion stalking down the hills.¢

I want something to overcome, something on which
I may test my endurance. For this is another
remarkable quality that Sextius possesses: he will
show you the grandeur of the happy life and yet will
not make you despair of attaining it; you will
understand that it is on high, but that it is accessible
to him who has the will to seek it.

And virtue herself will have the same effect upon
you, of making you admire her and yet hope to
attain her. In my own case, at any rate, the very
contemplation of wisdom takes much of my time;
I gaze upon her with bewilderment, just as I some-
times gaze upon the firmament itself, which I often
behold as if I saw it for the first time. Hence I
worship the discoveries of wisdom and their dis-
coverers ; to enter, as it were, into the inheritance
of many predecessors is a delight. It was for me
that they laid up this treasure; it was for me that
they toiled. But we should play the part of a
careful householder; we should increase what we
have inherited. This inheritance shall pass from
me to my descendants larger than before. Much
still remains to do, and much will always remain,
and he who shall be born a thousand ages hence
will not be barred from his opportunity of adding
something further. But even if the old masters
have discovered everything, one thing will be
always new,—the application and the scientific
study and classification of the discoveries made by
others. Assume that prescriptions have been handed
down to us for the healing of the eyes; there is
no need of my searching for others in addition; but

44}

9

10

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

sed haec tamen morbis et temporibus aptanda sunt.
Hoc asperitas oculorum conlevatur ; hoc palpebrarum
crassitudo tenuatur; hoc vis subita et umor! avertitur ;
hoc acuetur visus ; teras ista oportet et eligas tempus,
adhibeas singulis modum.

Animi remedia inventa sunt ab antiquis ; quomodo
autem admoveantur aut quando, nostri operis est
quaerere. Multum egerunt, qui ante nos fuerunt,
sed non peregerunt. Suspiciendi tamen sunt et ritu
deorum colendi. Quidni ego magnorum virorum et
imagines habeam incitamenta animi et natales
celebrem? Quidni ego illos honoris causa semper
appellem? Quam venerationem praeceptoribus meis
debeo, eandem illis praeceptoribus generis humani,
a quibus tanti boni initia fluxerunt. Si consulem
videro aut praetorem, omnia, quibus honor haberi
honori solet, faciam ; equo desiliam, caput adaperiam,
semita cedam. Quid ergo? Marcum Catonem
utrumque et Laelium Sapientem et Socraten cum
Platone et Zenonem Cleanthenque in animum meum
sine dignatione summa recipiam? Ego vero illos

veneror et tantis nominibus semper adsurgo. VALE.

1 subita et umor LVPb; subite timor p; subita et timor
Cornelissen.

442

EPISTLE LXIV.

for all that, these prescriptions must be adapted to
the particular disease and to the particular stage of
the disease. Use this prescription to relieve granu-
lation of the eyelids, that to reduce the swelling of
the lids, this to prevent sudden pain or a rush of
tears, that to sharpen the vision. Then compound
these several prescriptions, watch for the right time
of their application, and apply the proper treatment
in each case.

The cures for the spirit also have been discovered
by the ancients; but it is our task to learn the
method and the time of treatment. Our pre-
decessors have worked much improvement, but have
not worked out the problem. They deserve respect,
however, and should be worshipped with a divine
ritual. Why should I not keep statues of great men
to kindle my enthusiasm, and celebrate their birth-
days? Why should I not continually greet them
with respect and honour? The reverence which
[ owe to my own teachers I owe in like measure to
those teachers of the human race, the source from
which the beginnings of such great blessings have
flowed. If I meet a consul or a praetor, I shall pay
him all the honour which his post of honour is wont
to receive: I shall dismount, uncover, and yield the
road, What, then? Shall I admit into my soul
with less than the highest marks of respect Marcus
Cato, the Elder and the Younger, Laelius the Wise,
Socrates and Plato, Zeno and Cleanthes? I worship
them in very truth, and always rise to do hunour to
such noble names. Farewell.

443

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

LXV.
Seneca LyciLio svo SALVTEM

1 Hesternum diem divisi cum mala valetudine;
antemeridianum illa sibi vindicavit, postmeridiano
mihi cessit. Itaque lectione primum temptavi
animum. Deinde cum hanc recepisset, plus _illi
imperare ausus sum, immo permittere ; aliquid scripsi
et quidem intentius quam soleo, dum cum materia
difficili contendo et vinci nolo, donec intervenerunt
amici, qui mihi vim adferrent et tamquam aegrum

2intemperantem coercerent. In locum stili sermo
successit, ex quo eam partem ad te perferam, quae in
lite est. Te arbitrum addiximus. Plus negotii habes
quam existimas ; triplex causa est.

Dicunt, ut scis, Stoici nostri duo esse in rerum
natura, ex quibus omnia fiant, causam et materiam.
Materia iacet iners, res ad omnia parata, cessatura, si
nemo moveat. Causa autem, id est ratio, materiam
format et quocumque vult versat, ex illa varia opera
producit. Esse ergo debet, unde fiat aliquid, deinde
a quo fiat. Hoc causa est, illud materia.

3 Omnis ars naturae imitatio est. Itaque quod de
universo dicebam, ad haec transfer, quae ab homine

« For Seneca’s troubles in this regard see also L’pp. liv.
and civ.

» The arbiter was a judge appointed to try a case accord-
ing to bona fides (equity), as contrasted with the iwdex proper,
whose duty was defined by the magistrate.

¢ See Zeller’s Stoics (translated by Reichel), pp. 139 ff.

444.

EPISTLE LXV.

LXV. ON THE FIRST CAUSE

I shared my time yesterday with ill health®; it
claimed for itself all the period before noon; in the
afternoon, however, it yielded to me. And so I first
tested my spirit by reading; then, when reading was
found to be possible, I dared to make more demands
upon the spirit, or perhaps I should say, to make
more concessions to it. I wrote a little, and indeed
with more concentration than usual, for I am
struggling with a difficult subject and do not wish to
be downed. Inthe midst of this, some friends visited
me, with the purpose of employing force and of
restraining me, as if I were a sick man indulging in
some excess. So conversation was substituted for
writing ; and from this conversation I shall communi-
cate to you the topic which is still the subject of
debate; for we have appointed you referee.2 You
have more of a task on your hands than you suppose,
for the argument is threefold.

Our Stoic philosophers, as you know, declare that
there are two things in the universe which are the
source of everything,—namely, cause and matter.°
Matter lies sluggish, a substance ready for any use,
but sure to remain unemployed if no one sets it in
motion. Cause, however, by which we mean reason,
moulds matter and turns it in whatever direction
it will, producing thereby various concrete results.
Accordingly, there must be, in the case of each thing,
that from which it is made, and, next, an agent by
which it is made. The former is its material, the
latter its cause.

All art is but imitation of nature; therefore, let
me apply these statements of general principles to

445

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

facienda sunt. Statua et materiam habuit, quae
pateretur artificem, et artificem, qui materiae daret
faciem. Ergo in statua materia aes fuit, causa opifex
Eadem condicio rerum omnium est; ex eo constant,
4 quod fit, et ex eo, quod facit. Stoicis placet unam
causam esse, id, quod facit. Aristoteles putat causam
tribus modis dici: ‘ Prima,” inquit, “causa est ipsa
materia, sine qua nihil potest effici; secunda opifex.
Tertia est forma, quae unicuique operi inponitur
tamquam statuae”’; nam hanc Aristoteles idos vocat.
“ Quarta quoque,” inquit, “his accedit, propositum
5 totius operis.”” Quid sit hoc, aperiam. Aes prima
statuae causa est. Numquam enim facta esset, nisi
fuisset id, ex quo funderetur ducereturve. Secunda
causa artifex est. Non potuisset enim aes illud
in habitum statuae figurari, nisi accessissent peritae
manus. Tertia causa est forma. Neque enim statua
ista doryphoros aut diadumenos vocaretur, nisi haec
illi esset inpressa facies. Quarta causa est faciendi
propositum. Nam nisi hoc fuisset, facta non esset.
6 Quid! est propositum? Quod invitavit artificem,
quod ille secutus fecit; vel pecunia est haec, si
venditurus fabricavit, vel gloria, si laboravit in nomen,
vel religio, si donum templo paravit. Ergo et haec
1 guid the later MSS.; quod pLVPb.

¢ The statue figure is a frequent one in philosophy ; cf.
Ep. ix. 5. The ‘form” of Aristotle goes back to the
‘‘idea” of Plato. These four causes are the causes of
Aristotle,—matter (t\7), form (eldos), force (7d xivodv), and
the end (7d 7éA\os); when they all concur, we pass from
possibility to fact. Aristotle gives eight categories in
Phys. 225 b 5; and ten in Categ. 1 b 25,—substance, quantity,
quality, relation, place, time, situation, possession, action,
passion. Fora definition of eldos see Aristotle, Phys. 190 b 20
ylyverac way &x Te Tod Uroxemévov Kal ris popPpjs (1.6. Too

elSous).
> Well-known works of Polyclitus, fifth century B.c.

4.46

EPISTLE LXV.

the things which have to be made by man. Astatue,
for example, has afforded matter which was to undergo
treatment at the hands of the artist, and has had an
artist who was to give form to the matter. Hence,
in the case of the statue, the material was bronze,
the cause was the workman. And so it goes with all
things,—they consist of that which is made, and of
the maker. The Stoics believe in one cause only,—
the maker; but Aristotle thinks that the word
“eause’’ can be used in three ways: “ The first
cause, he says, “is the actual matter, without which
nothing can be created. Thesecond is the workman.
The third is the form, which is impressed upon every
work,—a statue, for example.” This last is what
Aristotle calls the zdos.t ‘There is, too,” says he,
“a fourth,—the purpose of the work as a whole.”
Now I shall show you what this last means. Bronze
is the “ first cause”’ of the statue, for it could never
have been made unless there had been something from
which it could be cast and moulded. The “second
cause’”’ is the artist; for without the skilled hands
of a workman that bronze could not have been shaped
to the outlines of the statue. The “third cause” is
the form, inasmuch as our statue could never be called
The Lance-Bearer or The Boy Binding his Hair,? had
not this special shape been stamped upon it. The
“fourth cause”’ is the purpose of the work. For if
this purpose had not existed, the statue would not
have been made. Now what is this purpose? It is
that which attracted the artist, which he followed
when he made the statue. It may have been money,
if he has made it for sale; or renown, if he has
worked for reputation ; or religion, if he has wrought
it as a gift for a temple. Therefore this also is a
cause contributing towards the making of the statue ;

447

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

causa est, propter quam fit; an non putas inter causas
facti operis esse numerandum, quo remoto factum
non esset ?

7 His quintam Plato adicit exemplar, quam ipse
idean vocat; hoc est enim, ad quod respiciens
artifex id, quod destinabat, effecit. Nihil autem ad
rem pertinet, utrum foris habeat exemplar, ad quod
referat oculos, an intus, quod ibi ipse concepit et
posuit. Haec exemplaria rerum omnium deus intra
se habet numerosque universorum, quae agenda sunt,
et modos mente conplexus est; plenus his figuris est,
quas Plato ideas appellat, inmortales, inmutabiles,
infatigabiles. Itaque homines quidem pereunt, ipsa
autem humanitas, ad quam homo effingitur, permanet,
et hominibus laborantibus, intereuntibus illa nihil

8 patitur. Quinque ergo causae sunt, ut Plato dicit:
id ex quo, id a quo, id in quo, id ad quod, id propter
quod. Novissime id quod ex his est. Tamquam in
statua, quia de hac loqui coepimus, id ex quo aes est,
id a quo artifex est, id in quo forma est, quae aptatur
illi, id ad quod exemplar est, quod imitatur is, qui
facit, id propter quod facientis propositum est, id

g quod ex istis est, ipsa statua est. Haec omnia
mundus quoque, ut ait Plato, habet: facientem: hic
deus est. Ex quo fit: haec materia est. Formam:
haec est habitus et ordo mundi, quem videmus.
Exemplar, scilicet, ad quod deus hane magnitudinem

¢ Explaining the derivation of the Greek word, — léetv,
‘“*to behold.” For a discussion of Plato’s ‘‘ideas,” those
‘*independent, separate, self-existing, perfect, and eternal
essences ” (/tepublic vi. and vii.) see Adam, The Republic of
Plato, ii. 168-179. According to Adam, Plato owes his
theory of ideas to Socrates, the Eleatics, and the study of
geometry ; but his debt is not so great as his discovery.

> i.e., the four categories as established by Aristotle, plus
the ‘*idea”’ of Plato.

448

EPISTLE LXV.

or do you think that we should avoid including,
among the causes of a thing which has been made,
that element without which the thing in question
would not have been made?

To these four Plato adds a fifth cause, —the
pattern which he himself calls the “idea” ; for it is
this that the artist gazed upon @ when he created the
work which he had decided to carry out. Now it
makes no difference whether he has his pattern
outside himself, that he may direct his glance to it,
or within himself, conceived and placed there by
himself. God has within himself these patterns of
all things, and his mind comprehends the harmonies
and the measures of the whole totality of things
which are to be carried out; he is filled with these
shapes which Plato calls the “ ideas,’’—imperishable,
unchangeable, not subject to decay. And therefore,
though men die, humanity itself, or the idea of man,
according to which man is moulded, lasts on, and
though men toil and perish, it suffers no change.
Accordingly, there are five causes, as Plato says?:
the material, the agent, the make-up, the model, and
the end in view. Last comes the result of all these.
Just as in the case of the statue,—to go back to
the figure with which we began,—the material is the
bronze, the agent is the artist, the make-up is the
form which is adapted to the material, the model is
the pattern imitated by the agent, the end in view
is the purpose in the maker’s mind, and, finally, the
result of all these is the statue itself. The universe
also, in Plato’s opinion, possesses all these elements.
The agent is God; the source, matter; the form, the
shape and the arrangement of the visible world.
The pattern is doubtless the model according to
which God has made this great and most beautiful

449

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

10 operis pulcherrimi fecit. Propositum, propter quod
fecit. Quaeris, quod sit propositum deo? Bonitas
Ita certe Plato ait: “ Quae deo faciendi mundum fuit
causa? Bonus est; bono nulla cuiusquam boni invidia
est. Fecit itaque quam optimum potuit.”” Fer ergo,
iudex, sententiam et pronuntia, quis tibi videatur
verissimum dicere, non quis verissimum dicat. Id
enim tam supra nos est quam ipsa veritas.

11 Haec, quae ab Aristotele et Platone ponitur, turba
causarum aut nimium multa aut nimium_ pauca
conprendit. Nam si, quocumque remoto quid effici
non potest, id causam iudicant esse faciendi, pauca
dixerunt. Ponant inter causas tempus ; nihil sine
tempore potest fieri. Ponant locum; si non fuerit,
ubi fiat aliquid, ne fiet quidem. Ponant motum;
nihil sine hoc nec fit nec perit. Nulla sine motu ars,

12 nulla mutatio est. Sed nos nunc primam et gene-
ralem quaerimus causam. MHaec simplex esse debet ;
nam et materia simplex est. Quaerimus, quid sit
causa? Ratio scilicet faciens, id est deus.! Ista
enim, quaecumque rettulistis, non sunt multae et
singulae causae, sed ex una pendent, ex ea, quae

13 faciet. Formam dicis causam esse? MHanc inponit
artifex operi; pars causae est, non causa. Exemplar
quoque non est causa, sed instrumentum causae
necessarium. Sic necessarium est exemplar artifici,

1 id est deus was regarded as a gloss by Schweighdauser.

@ The Stoic view (see § 2 of this letter), besides making
the four categories of ‘*‘ substance,” ‘* form,” ‘‘ variety,” and
‘‘ variety of relation,” regarded material things as the only
things which possessed being. The Stoics tlius differ from
Aristotle and Plato in holding that nothing is real except
matter; besides, they relate everything to one ultimate
cause, the acting force or efficient cause.

> t.e., the Adyos omepuarixés, the creative force in nature,
that is, Providence, or the will of Zeus.

450

EPISTLE LXV.

creation. The purpose is his object in sodoing. Do
you ask what God’s purpose is? It is goodness.
Plato, at any rate, says: “ What was God’s reason
for creating the world? God is good, and no good
person is grudging of anything that is good. There-
fore, God made it the best world possible.’”’ Hand
down your opinion, then, O judge; state who seems
to you to say what is truest, and not who says what
is absolutely true. For to do that is as far beyond
our ken as truth itself.

This throng of causes, defined by Aristotle and by
Plato, embraces either too much or too little.* For
if they regard as “causes”’ of an object that is to be
made everything without which the object cannot
be made, they have named too few. Time must be
included among the causes; for nothing can be made
without time. They must also include place; for if
there be no place where a thing can be made, it will
not be made. And motion too; nothing is either
made or destroyed without motion. There is no art
without motion, no change of any kind. Now, how-
ever, I am searching for the first, the general cause ;
this must be simple, inasmuch as matter, too, is
simple. Do we ask what cause is? It is surely
Creative Reason,2-—in other words, God. For those
elements to which you referred are not a great series
of independent causes; they all hinge on one alone,
and that will be the creative cause. Do you maintain
that form is a cause? This is only what the artist
stamps upon his work ; it is part of a cause, but not
the cause. Neither is the pattern a cause, but an
indispensable tool of the cause. His pattern is as

451

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

quomodo scalprum, quomody lima; sine his pro-

cedere ars non potest. Non tamen hae partes artis

14 aut causae sunt. “ Propositum,” inquit, “ artificis,

15

16

propter quod ad faciendum aliquid accedit, causa est.”
Ut sit causa, non est efficiens causa, sed superveniens.
Hae autem innumerabiles sunt; nos de causa generali
quaerimus. [llud vero non pro solita ipsis subtilitate
dixerunt, totum mundum et consummatum opus
causam esse. Multum enim interest inter opus et
causam operis.

Aut fer sententiam aut, quod facilius in eiusmodi
rebus est, nega tibi liquere et nos reverti iube.
“ Quid te,” inquis, “ delectat tempus inter ista con-
terere, quae tibi nullum affectum eripiunt, nullam
cupiditatem abigunt?’’ Ego quidem ut potiora! illa
ago ac tracto, quibus pacatur animus, et me prius
scrutor, deinde hunc mundum. Ne nunc quidem
tempus, ut existimas, perdo. Ista enim omnia, si non
concidantur nec in hanc subtilitatem inutilem distra-
hantur, attollunt et levant animum, qui gravi sarcina
pressus explicari cupit et reverti ad illa, quorum fuit.
Nam corpus hoc animi pondus ac poena est ; premente
illo urgetur, in vinclis est, nisi accessit philosophia

et illum respirare rerum naturae spectaculo iussit et

1 ut potiora Hense ; peiora or priora MSS.

* 4.e., restate the question and hear the evidence again.

452

EPISTLE JV.XV.

indispensable to the artist as the chisel or the file;
without these, art can make no progress. But for all
that, these things are neither parts of the art, nor
causes of it. ‘Then,’ perhaps you will say, “the
purpose of the artist, that which leads him to under-
take to create something, is the cause.” It may be
a cause; it is not, however, the efficient cause, but
only an accessory cause. But there are countless
accessory causes; what we are discussing is the
general cause. Now the statement of Plato and
Aristotle is not in accord with their usual penetration,
when they maintain that the whole universe, the
perfectly wrought work, is a cause. For there is a
great difference between a work and the cause of a
work.

Either give your opinion, or, as is easier in cases
of this kind, declare that the matter is not clear and
call for another hearing.“ But you will reply: “ What
pleasure do you get from wasting your time on these
problems, which relieve you of none of your emotions,
rout none of your desires?” So far as I am con-
cerned, I treat and discuss them as matters which
contribute greatly toward calming the spirit, and I
search myself first, and then the world about me.
And not even now am I, as you think, wasting
my time. For all these questions, provided that
they be not chopped up and torn apart into such
unprofitable refinements, elevate and lighten the
soul, which is weighted down by a heavy burden and
desires to be freed and to return to the elements of
which it was once a part. For this body of ours is
a weight upon the soul and its penance; as the load
presses down the soul is crushed and is in bondage,
unless philosophy has come to its assistance and
has bid it take fresh courage by contemplating the

453

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

a terrenis ad divina dimisit. Haec libertas eius est,
haec evagatio; subducit interim se custodiae, in qua

17 tenetur, et caelo reficitur. Quemadmodum artifices !
alicuius rei subtilioris, quae intentione oculos de-
fetigat, si malignum habent et precarium? lumen, in
publicum prodeunt et in aliqua regione ad populi
otium dedicata oculos libera luce delectant ; sic
animus in hoc tristi et obscuro domicilio clusus,
quotiens potest, apertum petit et in rerum naturae
contemplatione requiescit.

18 Sapiens adsectatorque sapientiae adhaeret quidem
in corpore suo, sed optima sui parte abest et cogi-
tationes suas ad sublimia intendit. Velut sacramento
rogatus hoc, quod vivit, stipendium putat. Et ita
formatus est, ut illi nee amor vitae nec odium sit,
patiturque mortalia, quamvis sciat ampliora superesse.

19 Interdicis mihi inspectione rerum naturae, a toto
abductum redigis in partem? Ego non quaeram,
quae sint initia universorum? Quis rerum formator?
Quis omnia in uno mersa et materia inerti convoluta
discreverit? Non quaeram, quis sit istius artifex
mundi? Qua ratione tanta magnitudo in legem et
ordinem venerit? Quis sparsa collegerit, confusa
distinxerit, in una deformitate iacentibus faciem
diviserit? Unde lux tanta fundatur? Ignis sit, an

1 ex after artifices deleted by Haase.

2 precarium O and a MS. of Opsopoeus ; praeclarium or
praeclarum pV LPb.

@ According to the Stoics the soul, which consisted of fire
or breath and was a part of the divine essence, rose at
death into the ether and became one with the stars. Seneca
elsewhere (Consolatio ad Marciam) states that the soul went
through a sort of purifying process,—a view which may
have had some influence on Christian thought. The souls
of the good, the Stoics maintained, were destined to last
until the end of the world, the souls of the bad to be
extinguished before that time.

454

EPISTLE LXV.

universe, and has turned it from things earthly to
things divine. There it has its liberty, there it can
roam abroad”; meantime it escapes the custody in
which it is bound, and renews its life in heaven.
Just as skilled workmen, who have been engaged
upon some delicate piece of work which wearies
their eyes with straining, if the light which they
have is niggardly or uncertain, go forth into the open
air and in some park devoted to the people’s recrea-
tion delight their eyes in the generous light of day ;
so the soul, imprisoned as it has been in this gloomy
and darkened house, seeks the open sky whenever
it can, and in the contemplation of the universe
finds rest.

The wise man, the seeker after wisdom, is bound
closely, indeed, to his body, but he is an absentee so
far as his better self is concerned, and he concentrates
his thoughts upon lofty things. Bound, so to speak,
to his oath of allegiance, he regards the period of
life as his term of service. He is so trained that he
neither loves nor hates life; he endures a mortal lot,
although he knows that an ampler lot is in store for
him. Do you forbid me to contemplate the universe ?
Do you compel me to withdraw from the whole and
restrict me to a part? May I not ask what are the
beginnings of all things, who moulded the universe,
who took the confused and conglomerate mass of
sluggish matter, and separated it into its parts? May
I not inquire who is the Master-Builder of this
universe, how the mighty bulk was brought under
the control of law and order, who gathered together
the scattered atoms, who separated the disordered
elements and assigned an outward form to elements
that lay in one vast shapelessness? Or whence came
all the expanse of light? And whether is it fire, or

455

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

20 aliquid igne lucidius? Ego ista nonquaeram? Ego
nesciam, unde descenderim? Semel haec mihi
videnda sint, an saepe nascendum? Quo hinc iturus
sim? Quae sedes exspectet animam solutam legibus
servitutis humanae? Vetas me caelo interesse, id

91 est iubes me vivere capite demisso? Maior sum et
ad maiora genitus, quam ut mancipium sim mei
corporis, quod equidem non aliter aspicio quam
vinclum aliquod libertati meae circumdatum. Hoe
itaque oppono fortunae, in quo resistat, nec per illud
ad me ullum transire vulnus sino. Quicquid in me
potest iniuriam pati, hoc est. In hoc obnoxio domi-

22 cilio animus liber habitat. Numquam me caro ista
conpellet ad metum, numquam ad indignam bono
simulationem ; numquam in honorem huius corpus-
culi mentiar. Cum visum erit, distraham cum illo
societatem. Et nunc tamen, dum haeremus, non
erimus aequis partibus socii; animus ad se omne ius
ducet. Contemptus corporis sui certa libertas est.

23 Utad propositum revertar, huic libertati multum
conferet et illa, de qua modo loquebamur, inspectio.
Nempe universa ex materia et ex deo constant. Deus
ista temperat, quae circumfusa rectorem secuntur et
ducem. Potentius autem est ac pretiosius, quod facit,

24 quod est deus, quam materia patiens dei. Quem in

¢ The sequence of elements from the earth outwards
and upwards was earth, water, air, and fire. The upper
fire was ether. Zeno (quoted by Cicero, Acad. i. 11. 39)
refused to acknowledge a fifth essence: statwebat enim
ignem esse ipsam naturam, quae quaeque gigneret, et mentem
et sensus.

> The ‘‘ prison of the body ” is a frequent figure in Stoic
as in all philosophy. See, for example, § 16 of this letter,
“the soul in bondage.”

¢ A restatement of the previous remark made in this
letter ; see note on § 11.

456

EPISTLE LXV.

something even brighter than fire?* Am I not to
ask these questions? Must I be ignorant of the
heights whence I have descended? Whether I am
to see this world but once, or to be born many
times? What is my destination afterwards? What
abode awaits my soul on its release from the
laws of slavery among men? Do you forbid me
to have a share in heaven? In other words,
do you bid me live with my head bowed down?
No, I am above such an existence; I was born
to a greater destiny than to be a mere chattel
of my body, and I regard this body as nothing
but a chain® which manacles my freedom. There-
fore, I offer it as a sort of buffer to fortune, and
shall allow no wound to penetrate through to
my soul. For my body is the only part of me
which can suffer injury. In this dwelling, which
is exposed to peril, my soul lives free. Never
shall this flesh drive me to feel fear, or to assume
any pretence that is unworthy of a good man.
Never shall [ lie in order to honour this petty body.
When it seems proper, I shall sever my connexion
with it. And at present, while we are bound
together, our alliance shall nevertheless not be one
of equality; the soul shall bring all quarrels before
its own tribunal. To despise our bodies is sure
freedom.

To return to our subject; this freedom will be
greatly helped by the contemplation of which we
were just speaking. All things are made up of
matter and of God’; God controls matter, which
encompasses him and follows him as its guide and
leader. And that which creates, in other words,
God, is more powerful and precious than matter,
which is acted upon by God. God’s place in the

457

THE EPISTLES OF SENECA

hoc mundo locum deus obtinet, hune in homine
animus. Quod est illic materia, id in nobis corpus
est ; serviant ergo deteriora melioribus. Fortes simus
adversus fortuita. Non contremescamus iniurias, non
vulnera, non vincula, non egestatem. Mors quid est?
Aut finis aut transitus. Nec desinere timeo, idem
est enim, quod non coepisse, nec transire, quia
nusquam tam anguste ero. Vatk.

453

EPISTLE LXV.

universe corresponds to the soul’s relation to man.
World-matter corresponds to our mortal body ; there-
fore let the lower serve the higher. Let us be
brave in the face of hazards. Let us not fear wrongs,
or wounds, or bonds, or poverty. And what is death?
It is either the end, or a process of change. I have
no fear of ceasing to exist; it is the same as not
having begun. Nor do I shrink from changing into
another state, because I shall, under no conditions,
be as cramped as I am now. Farewell.

459

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Acapemic School of Philo-
sophy, its lofty ideals,
bora bein 6

L. Accius (Roman poet, 2nd
century B.c.), lvili. 5

Acheron (the lake), lv. 6

Aelius Sejanus (prime minis-
ter of Tiberius), dangers
of acquaintance with, lv. 3

Aetna, celebrated by poets,
li, al

Alexander the Great (356-
323 B.c.), sayings of, liii.
10; ix: 12

Aristo (of Chios, Stoic philo-
sopher, 3rd century B.c.),
saying of, xxxvi. 3

Aristo (philosopher, identity
unknown), anecdotes of,

xxix. 6

Aristotle (384-322 z.c.), debt
to Socrates, vi. 6; on genus
and species, Ivili. 9; on
cause, form, matter, etc.,
Ixv. 4

Asinius Gallus(sonof Asinius
Pollio), dangers of friend-
ship with, lv. 3

Athenodorus (of Tarsus,
librarian at Pergamus,
friend of Cato), on frank-
ness toward the gods, x. 5

Athens, visited by wise meu
from the East, lviii. 31

Attalus (Stoic philosopher,
teacher of Seneca), on
friendship, ix. 7; on the
memory of lost friends,
Ixiii. 5

T. Pomponius Atticus, made
immortal by Cicero’s
correspondence, xxi. 4

Baza and Isio, futility of,
xvii 9

Baiae, luxuries of, li. 1 ff.,
lv. passim, lvii. 1

Aufidius Bassus (perhaps the
historian whose work the
Elder Pliny continued, see
Plin. Hp. iii. 5. 6), illness
ofc. SE,

C. Jutrus Cagsar, hostility
tO. ALO. pki, to 0. ako,
8; villas of, li. 11

Gaius Caesar (Caligula),
slain by Chaerea, iv. 7

Callistus (a favourite of the
Emperor Claudius), dis-
dains his former master,
xlvii. 9

Campania, thoughts inspired

461

INDEX

by the sight of, xlix) 2;
its effect upon Hannibal,
li. 5; home-sickness for,
ives

Candavian desert, xxxi. 9

Canopus, vices of, li. 3

M. orcius Cato (the
Censor), effect of the mob
upon, vii. 6; model for
good conduct, xi. 10, xxv. 6

M. Cato (the younger), his
glory, xiii. 14; bravery,
xiv. 12 ff. ; last moments,
xxiv. 6ff.; scorn of loose
living, li. 12; as species,
Ilviii. 12; deserving of
honour, lxiv. 10

Cerberus, false ideas con-
cerning, xxiv. 18 ff.

Chaerea, Cassius, murderer
of Caligula, iv. 7

Charinus, archon at Athens,
Xvill. 9

Chrysippus (successor of
Cleanthes as head of the
Stoic school), saying of,
ix. 14; advice of, xxii. 11,
XXxXlli, 4

Chrysippus (unknown),
victim of greetings, lvi. 3

Cicero, his tribute to philo-
sophy, xvii. 2; confers
immortality upon Atticus,
xxi. 4; his deliberate
speech, xl. 11 ; his opinion
of the lyric poets, xlix. 5;
on the use of essentia, lviii.
6; as species, lviii. 12

Cleanthes (successor of Zeno
as head of the Stoic school),
disciple of Zeno, vi. 6;
dicta of, xxxiii. 4 ff. ; his
humble station, xliv. 3;

462

object of veneration, Ixiv.
10

M. Licinius Crassus (the
triumvir), death of, iv. 7

Crates (of Thebes, Cynic
philosopher c. 300 B.c.),
his advice to a young man,
> ed |

Croesus, captivity of, xlvii.
12

Cumae, lv. 2

Cynic School of Philosophy,
its high standards, xxix.
il; free speech, =xps, 1

Darius, the mother of, in
captivity, xlvii. 12

Demetrius Poliorcetes (ac-
quired control of Athens
307 B.c.), conversation of,
ix, 18 f.

Demetrius (of Sunium), con-
sistent simplicity of, xx.
9; companion of Seneca,
ixiie3

Democritus (Greek atomic
philosopher, 5th and 4th
centuries B.c.), on the im-
portance of the individual,
vii. 10 ‘

Dexter (the tribune who
executed Lepidus), iv. 7
Diogenes(Cynic philosopher,
4th century B.c.), his free
speech, xxix. 1; slavery,

xlvii. 12

Ecyprians, customs of
bandits among the, li. 13
Q. Ennius (Roman poet,

239-169 B.c.), lviii. 5
Epicurean, the spirit of an,
xlviii. 1

INDEX

Epicurus (founder of the
school, 342-279 s.c.), his
influence, vi. 6, xxi. 3;
self-denial, xviii. 6 ff. ;
addressed, xx. 11; confers
glory, xxi. 3ff.; wide ap-
plication of his sayings,
Vili.) (8, foe ON) acxxiii.
2; arguments concerning
mythology, xxiv. 18;
bravery, xxxiii. 2; Lucilius’
style resembles his, xlvi. 1;
quoted, ii. 5f., iv. 10, vii.
Li: ville Fol “and 20,
xi. 8, xii. 10, xiii. 16, xiv.
‘7, xve Spenvidiigexviiy 1,
xviii. 14, xix. 10, xx. 9,
xxi. 3ff., xxii. 6 and 14,
xxili. 9, xxiv. 22 ff., xxv.

Sit) sexrxvirn 28, droexvins (19,
xxviii. 9, xxix. 10, xxx.
14, lii. 3 f.

Euripides, quoted, xlix. 12

Parrrius Fasranus (an ad-
viser and_ teacher of
Seneca), his modesty, xi.
4; deliberate style, xl. 12;
calmness of his audience,

lii. 11; authority for the
use of the word essentia,
lviii. 6

Felicio, pet slave of Seneca,
son of Philositus, xii. 3
Flaccus (friend of Lucilius),

death of, Lxiii. 1 ff.

Germany, training of chil-
dren in, xxxvi. 7

Julius Graecinus (man of
noble character, slain by
Caligula), witticism of,
Xx1x. 6

VOL. I Q

Graian Alps, xxxi. 9

Greeks, He word oestrus
used by, lviii. 2; proverbs
and maxims of, xxxiii. 7;
headlong style of, xl. 11;
as species of man, lviii. 12;
their idea of the poet, lviii.
17

HANNIBAL, weakened by
Campanian luxuries, li. 5 f.

Harpaste, blindness of, 1. 2 f.

Q. Haterius (orator of the
fay Empire), rapidity of,
xl. 10

Hecato (a philosopher of
Rhodes and pupil of
Panaetius, c. 100 B.c.), on
hope and fear, v. 7; on
self-knowledge, vi. 7; on
love, ix. 6

Hecuba (Queen of Troy),
captivity of, xlvii. 12

Heraclitus (philosopher of
Ephesus, c. 500 B.c.), say-
ings of, xii. 7, lviii. 23

Hermarchus (successor of
Epicucus as head of the
school), close adherence to
Epicurus, vi. 6; dicta of,
xxxili. 4; a philosopher of
the third grade, lii. 4

Herodotus (Greek historian,
5th century B.c.), remi-
niscence of, vi. 5

Hesiod, reminiscence of, i.
5; misquoted by Sabinus.
XXVii. 6

Homer, cailed the poet by the
Greeks, lviii. 17; on the
rapid and gentle styles, xl.
2; misquoted by Sabinus,
XxVii. 6

463

INDEX

IpomENEUs (prominent in
state affairs and a con-
temporary of Epicurus),
correspondence with Epi-
curus, xxi. 3ff., xxii. 5

Ixion, torments of, in the
lower world, xxiv. 18 ff.

Jupiter, amid the Stoic con-
flagration, ix. 16; happi-
ness of, xxv. 4; popularly
called the father of Alex-
ander, lix. 12

Juvenal, compared, xiv. 9 n.

C. Laetrus Sapiens (states-
man and friend of Scipio
the Younger), effect of the
mob upon, vii. 6; a model
for mankind, xxv. 6;
worthy of honour, lxiv.
10

Latin Language, narrow
limits of, lviii. passim

Aemilius Lepidus (favourite
of Caligula, slain by him
A.D. 39), iv. 7

Liternum (town on sea-coast
of Campania, near Cumae),
abode of Scipio in exile,
li, 14

T. Livius (the historian, age
of Augustus), comparison
of his style with that of
Lucilius, xlvi. 1

Lucilius, procurator in Sicily,
KXxxiy) /Ok., 6 liv is iibyeeat
Pompeii or Naples, xlix. 1;
a Roman knight, xliv. 2 ff. ;
interested in philosophy,
passim, esp. xl. 2; author,
xlvi. 1; poctry of, viii. 10,

464

xxiv. 21. See Introduction,
joe ox:

Lucretius (Roman poet, Ist
century B.c.), as species of
man, lviii. 12

Maecenas, character of, xix.
9 f. ; quoted, ib.

M. Tullius Marcellinus (a
friend of Seneca), faults of,
xxix tts

C. Marius (rival of Sulla),
the massacres of his epoch,
xlvii. 10; villas of, li. 11

M. Valerius Messala Cor-
vinus (statesman and man
of letters, b. 59 B.c.) de-
scribes Aetna, li. 1

Meta Sudans (see ad loc.),
the haunt of noisy pedlars,
lvi. 4

Q. Caecilius Metellus Numi-
dicus (Roman general and
statesman, retired into
exile, 100 B.c.), conduct in
exile, xxiv. 4

Metrodorus (follower of Epi-
curus), vi. 6; xiv. 17; his
simple life, xviii. 9; dicta,
Xxxill. 4; a genius of the
second grade, lii. 3

Mucius Scaevola (hero of
Roman- Etruscan wars),
puts his hand into the
flames, xxiv. 5

NaPLes, memories of, xlix.
1; journey to, Ivii. 1

P. Ovidius Naso (Roman
poet, age of Augustus),
quoted, xxxiii. 4

Nesis (islet in the bay of
Naples), liii. 1

INDEX

Nile, the distracting noise of
its waters, lvi. 3

Niobe, restraint of, in her
mourning, lxiii. 2

Pacuvius (a vice- governor
of Syria under Tiberius),
mock-funerals of, xii. 8

Panaetius (head of Stoic
school, 2nd century B.c.),
dicta assigned to, xxxiii. 4

Parthenope (another name
for Naples), favourite place
of Lucilius, liii. 1

Parthia, kings of, xvii. 11

Parthian, allusion to the de-
feat and death of Crassus,
53 B.c., iv. 7; training of
Parthian children, xxxvi.
7 ; as species of man, lviii.
12

Pennine Alps, xxxi. 9

Peripatetics, their dislike for
the common herd, xxix.
bls) referrediitonsimagest,
ibid. 6

Persians, bravery of, xxxiii. 2

Phidias, the sculptor, ix. 5

Plato (Athenian philosopher,
428-347 B.c.), debt to Soc-
rates, vi. 6; read by Cato,
xxiv. 6; ennobled by philo-
sophy, xliv. 3f.; captive,
xlvii. 12; theory of ideas,
Ixv. 7; worthy of honour,
Ixiv. 10; on being, lviii. 1
and 5 saa te quoted, xliv.
4 and passim

Polyaenus (correspondent of
Epicurus), influence of
Epicurus upon, vi. 6,
xviii. 9

Polyclitus (Greek sculptor,

5th century B.c.), works of,
Ixv. 5

Pompeii, probable home of
Lucilius, xlix. 1

Pompeius (the triumvir), his
shyness, xi. 4; death, iv.
7; villas, li. 11; disagrees
with Cato, xiv. 12f.

Pomponius (possibly Pom-
ponius Secundus, a con-
temporary of Seneca,
writer of tragedies and
letters), iii. 6

Porsenna (Etruscan king),
encounter with Mucius,
xxiv. 5

Posidonius (Stoic philo-
sopher, pupil of Panaetius
and friend of Cicero), dicta
assigned to, xxxili. 4

Prometheus, title of a work
of Maecenas, xix. 9

Publilius Syrus (writer of
farces and mimes, Ist
century B.c.), greatness of,
viii. 8 f.

Puteoli(near Naples), voyage
of Seneca to, liii. 1

Pythagoras (Greek philo-
sopher, 6th century B.c.),
rules of, lii. 10

Pythocles, a friend of Ido-
meneus, xxi. 7 f.

Roman style, dignity and
slowness of, xl. 113
Romans as species of man,
lviii. 12

Rome, complicated life in,
Lis

P. Rutilius Rufus (orator
and statesman, banished
92 B.c.), exile of, xxiv. 4

465

INDEX

Carvistus Sapinus (a typical
arvenu), his illiteracy and
faa taste, xxvii. 5 ff.

Sallust, compared, xx. 5;
quoted, Ix. 4

Satellius Quadratus, ridi-
cules Sabinus, xxvii. 7 ff.

Saturnalia, description of
the, xviii. 1

Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus
(prominent but unscrupu-
lous statesman in the reign
of Tiberius), witticism of,
xxix. 6

P. Cornelius Scipio (Afri-
canus Major), a model for
mankind, xxv. 6; his exile
at Liternum, li. 11

Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius
Scipio (father-in-law of
Pompey), heroism of, xxiv.
9 ff.

L. Annacus Seneca, see In-
troduction

Serapio (unknown), — dis-
ordered utterances of, xl. 2

Annaeus Serenus (friend
and possibly relative of
Seneca; praefectus vigilum
at Rome), loss of, lxiii. 14 f.

Q. Sextius (the Elder), in-
spiring writings of, lxiv.
2 ff. ; a simile of, lix. 7

Sicily, Scylla, and Charybdis,
dangers of, xiv. 8, xxxi. 9,
xlvi-2

Sisyphus, punishedin Hades,
xxiv. 18 ff.

Socrates, inspiring person-
ality of, vi. 6; effect of the
mob upon, vii. 6; glory of,
xiii. 14; his resignation,
xxiv. 4; on globe-trotting,

466

xxviii. 2; facing the Thirty
Tyrants, xxviii. 8; humble
birth, xliv. 3; worthy of
reverence, Ixiv. 10

Sotion (the Pythagorean),
recollections of, xlix. 2

Stilbo (Megarian philosopher
and a strong influence
on the Cynic and Stoic
schools, fl. 4th century
B.c.), attacked by Epicurus,
ix. 1 ff. ; teacher of Crates,
x. 1; quoted, ix. 18

Stoics (passim), agreement
with Stilbo, ix. 19; bold-
ness of their style, xiii. 4;
their caution, xxii. 7; wise
advice of their leaders,
xxil. 11; their lofty aims,
xxix. 11; free ideas, xxxiii.
4; theory on the fate of
the soul at death, lvii. 7;
definitions of the primary
genus, lviii. 13 ff. ; views on
pleasure, lix. 1; on cause
and matter, lxv. 2 and

assim

Sulla (dictator at Rome, Ist
century B.c.), anger of, xi.
4; disobeyed by Rutilius,
Xxiv. 4

Syria, governed by Pacuvius,
xii. 8

Syrtes (quicksands), xxxi. 9

THEOPHRAS?Tus (successor of
Aristotle as head of the
Peripatetic School), views
on friendship, iii. 2

Tiberius (Roman emperor,
14-37 a.p.), mentioned
with other royal connex-
ions of Atticus, xxi. 4

INDEX

Timon, dinners like those of,
XVili. 7

UtyssEs, temptations of,
xxxi. 2; victim of seasick-
ness, liii. 4; remedy against
Siren Songs, lvi. 15

C. Vaterus Rurus (Roman
poet, b. 81 B.c.), describes
Aetna, li. 1

P. Terentius Varro (sur-
named Atacinus, Latin
poet, 82-37 B.c.), quoted,
vi. 6

Servilius Vatia (rich man of
leisureintheearly Empire),
country-house of, lv. 2 ff.

P. Vergilius Maro (Roman
poet, 70-19 b.c.), immortal-

izes Nisus and Euryalus,
xxi. 5; the artist’s con-
ception of, lviii. 20; men-
tioned in illustration of
obsolete worus, lviii. 2 ff. ;
quoted, xii. 9, xviii. 12,
Sxl. 5; oxavinl. ob wand 3,
KK, Li. AKXVEL. See:
Xivilk, 24. xl de) lik. S.
Leh. 12 lv 2 dr. ic. 17,
lxiv. 4

P. Vinicius, ridiculed by
Asellius and Varius for his
stammering, xl. 9 f.

Zeno (founder of the Stoic
school, jl. c. 300 B.c.),
model for Cleanthes, vi. 6;
advice of, xxii. 11: dicta
of, xxxiii. 4 ff. ; object of
veneration, lxiv. 10

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL
LIBRARY

VOLUMES ALREADY PUBLISHED

LATIN AUTHORS

Ammianus Marcetuinus. J.C. Rolfe. 3 Vols.

ApuLxEius : THe Gouven Ass (Mrtamorpuosss). W. Adling-
ton (1566). Revised by S. Gaselee.

Sr. AuGusTINE: City or Gop. 7 Vols. Vol. I. G. E.
McCracken. Vol. II. W. M. Green. Vol. III. D. Wie-
sen. Vol. IV. P. Levine. Vol. V. E. M. Sanford and W. M.
Green. Vol. VI. W.C. Greene. Vol. VII. W.M. Green.

Sr. AucustInE, Conrerssions or. W. Watts (1631). 2 Vols.

Sr. AUGUSTINE: SELEcT Letrers. J. H. Baxter.

Ausonius. H.G. Evelyn White. 2 Vols.

Bepr. J. E. King. 2 Vols.

Boretuius: ‘Tracts anD Dr ConsoLatTIoneE PHILOSOPHIAE.
Rev. H. F. Stewart and E. K. Rand. Revised by S. J.
Tester.

CarEsarR: ALEXANDRIAN, AFRICAN AND SPANISH Wars. A. G.
Way.

CarsarR: Civit Wars. A. G. Peskett.

CarEsar: Gatiic War. H. J. Edwards.

Cato anp Varro: De Re Rustica. H. B. Ash and W. D.
Hooper.

Catutius. F. W. Cornish; Trsuttus. J. B. Postgate; and
PERVIGILIUM VeENERIS. J. W. Mackail.

Cretsus: Dre Menicina. W.G. Spencer. 3 Vols.

Crcero: Brutus ann Orator. G. L. Hendrickson and
H. M. Hubbell.

Cicero: De Fiyisus. H. Rackham.

Cicero: Der Inventtione, etc. H. M. Hubbell.

Cicero: De Natura Drorum ann AcabDemica. H. Rackham.

Cicero: Der Orricus. Walter Miller.

Cicero: Dr Orartorg, etc. 2 Vols. Vol. I: Dre Oravrore,
Books I and II. E. W. Sutton and H. Rackham. Vol. II:
De Oratorr, Book III; Dr Fato; Parapnoxa Sror-
coruM; Der PartitionE Oratoria. H. Rackham.

Cicero: Dr Repustica, De Lectsus. Clinton W. Keyes.

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

Cicero: Der Sewnectutr, De Amicitia, De DtvinaTIoneE.
W. A. Falconer.

Cicero: In Catitinam, Pro Murena, Pro Suiza, Pro
Fracco. New version by C. Macdonald.

Cicero: Letters to Atticus. E. O. Winstedt. 3 Vols.

Cicero: Lettrers To His Frrenps. W. Glynn Williams,
M. Cary, M. Henderson. 4 Vols.

Cicero: Puriurprics. W.C. A. Ker.

Cicero: Pro Arcutia, Post Repirum, De Domo, Dr Hae
RUSPICUM Responsis, Pro Piancio. N. H. Watts.

Cicero: Pro Carcina, Pro Lece Mantua, Pro Ciuentio,
Pro Rasirio. H. Grose Hodge.

Cicrro: Pro Carrio, De Provinciis ConsuLarisus, Pro
Baxrso. R. Gardner.

Cicero: Pro Mitonr, In Pisonem, Pro Scauro, Pro
Fontr1o, Pro Rasirio Postumo, Pro Marcetto, Pro
Licgario, Pro Reece Derotaro. N. H. Watts.

Cicero: Pro QurincTio, Pro Roscro AMERINO, Pro Roscio
ComorEpbo, Contra Rutium. J. H. Freese.

Cicero: Pro Ssstio, In Vatrnium. R. Gardner.

[Cicero]: RueETorica aD Herennium. H. Caplan.

Cicero: Tuscutan Disputations. J. E. King.

Cicero: VERRINE OratTions. L.H.G. Greenwood. 2 Vols.

Craupian. M. Platnauer. 2 Vols.

CotumMELLA: Der Re Rustica, DE Arsorisus. H. B. Ash,
E. S. Forster, E. Heffner. 3 Vols.

Currtius, Q.: History or ALEXANDER. J.C. Rolfe. 2 Vols.

Fiorus. E.S. Forster; and Cornetius Nepos. J.C. Rolfe.

FrontTinus: STRATAGEMS AND Aquepucts. C. E. Bennett
and M. B. McElwain.

Fronto: CorrEsponpDENCE. C. R. Haines. 2 Vols.

Getuus. J.C. Rolfe. 3 Vols.

Horace: Opes anp Epoprs. C. E. Bennett.

Horace: Satires, Episties, Ars Poetica. H. R. Fairclough.

JeroME: Setect Letters. F. A. Wright.

JUVENAL AND Persius. G. G. Ramsay.

Livy. B. O. Foster, F. G. Moore, Evan T. Sage, A. C.
Schlesinger and R. M. Geer (General Index). 14 Vols.

Lucan. J. D. Duff.

Lucretius. W.H.D. Rouse. Revised by M. F. Smith.

Maniuius. G. P. Goold.

Martiaz. W. C. A. Ker. 2 Vols. Revised by E. H.
Warmington.

Minor Latin Potts: from Pusiitivs Syrus to Rutiiius
Namatianvs, including Grattius, Catpurnius SIcutvus,

2

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

NemesiAanus, AviAnus, with ‘‘ Aetna,’’ ‘‘ Phoenix’? and
other poems. J. Wight Duff and Arnold M. Duff.

Ovip: THe ArT oF LovE AnD OTHER Poems. J. H. Mozley.
Revised by G. P. Goold.

Ovip: Fasti. Sir James G. Frazer. [by G. P. Goold.

Ovip: HerrorpEs anD Amores. Grant Showerman. Revised

Ovip: Metamorpuosss. F. J. Miller. 2 Vols. Vol. I re-
vised by G. P. Goold.

Ovip: Tristra anD Ex Ponto. A. L. Wheeler.

Pretronius. M. Heseltine; Seneca: ApocoLocynrosis.
W.H. D. Rouse. Revised by E. H. Warmington.

PuarEprus aNnD Basrius (Greek). B. E. Perry.

Piautus. Paul Nixon. 5 Vols.

Puny: Letters, Panrecyricus. B. Radice. 2 Vols.

Puryy: Naturat History. 10 Vols. Vols. I-V. H. Rack-
ham. Vols. VI-VIII. W.H.S. Jones. Vol. [X. H. Rack-
ham. Vol. X. D. E. Eichholz.

Propertius. H. E. Butler.

Prupentius. H.J. Thomson. 2 Vols.

QuintTiLtian. H. E. Butler. 4 Vols.

Remains oF Otp Latin. E. H. Warmington. 4 Vols.
Vol. I (Ennius and Caecilius). Vol. II (Livius, Naevius,
Pacuvius, Accius). Vol. III (Lucilius, Laws of the XII
Tables). Vol. IV (Archaic Inscriptions).

Satuust. J.C. Rolfe.

Scriptores Histortar AucustarE. D. Magie. 3 Vols.

Seneca: ApocotocynTosis. Cf. PETRonIvs.

Seneca: EpistutarE Morates. R. M. Gummere. 3 Vols.

Seneca: Morat Essays. J. W. Basore. 3 Vols.

Seneca : NaTuraLes Quasstiones. T. H. Corcoran. 2 Vols.

Seneca: Tracepies. F. J. Miller. 2 Vols.

SENECA THE Extper. M. Winterbottom. 2 Vols.

Srponius: Porms anp Letters. W. B. Anderson. 2 Vols.

Sru1us Itaticus. J. D. Duff. 2 Vols.

Statius. J. H. Mozley. 2 Vols.

Suetonius. J.C. Rolfe. 2 Vols.

Tacitus : AGRICOLA AND GERMANIA. M. Hutton; Diatoeus.
Sir Wm. Peterson. Revised by R. M. Ogilvie, E. H.
Warmington, M. Winterbottom.

Tacitus: Huistorres anp Annats. C. H. Moore and J.
Jackson. 4 Vols.

Terence. John Sargeaunt. 2 Vols.

TERTULLIAN: APOLOGIA AND De Spectacuuis. T. R. Glover;
Mrinucius Fewtrx. G. H. Rendall.

Vatertius Fraccus. J. H. Mozley.

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

PuutarcH: Morais. 16 Vols. Vols. I-V. F.C. Babbitt.
Vol. VI. W.C.Helmbold. Vol. VII. P.H. De Lacy and
B. Einarson. Vol. VIII. P. A. Clement, H. B. Hoffleit.
Vol. 1X. -Binis Minar, .Jr-30bstH Sandbach W.-C:
Helmbold. Vol. X. H.N. Fowler. Vol. XI. L. Pearson,
F.H. Sandbach. Vol. XII._H.Cherniss, W. C. Helmbold.
Vol. XIII, Parts 1 and 2. H. Cherniss. Vol. XIV. P. H.
De Lacy and B. Einarson. Vol. XV. F. H. Sandbach.

PrutarcH: Tur Parauvet Lives. B. Perrin. 11 Vols.

Potysius. W. R. Paton. 6 Vols.

Procopius: History or THE Wars. H. B. Dewing. 7 Vols.

Protemy: Tretrasrstos. Cf. MANETHO.

Quintus SmyrnaEus. A. S. Way. Verse trans.

Srextus Emprricus. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols.

Sopnocies. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans.

Straso: Grocrapny. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.

THEOPHRASTUS: CHARACTERS. J. M. Edmonds: Herropes,
etc. A. D. Knox.

THEeorHrastus: Dr Causis Prantarum. G. K. K. Link and
B. Einarson. 3 Vols. Vol. I.

THEoPHRASTUS: Enquiry INTO Puants. Sir Arthur Hort.
2 Vols.

Tuucypipres. C. F. Smith. 4 Vols.

TrypHioporus. Cf. Oppran.

XenopHon: Awnasasis. C. L. Brownson.

XeENOPHON: Cyroparpi1a. Walter Miller. 2 Vols.

XenopHon: HeEtienica. C. L. Brownson.

XENOPHON: MEMORABILIA AND Orconomicus. E. C. Mar-
chant; Symposium anv Apotocy. O. J. Todd.

XenopHON: Scripta Minora. E. C. Marchant and G. W.
Bowersock.

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